From Grandma Loy's Kitchen

Crazy Cooking Challenge-Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti

2012-03-07T09:00:00.010-08:00

This month's assignment for the Crazy Cooking Challenge was to find and make a dish that contained spaghetti and a red sauce. We prefer baked spaghetti, and I found Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti at Plain Chicken. She has another one called Baked Spasagna (love the name) that I considered also, but I had all the ingredients to make the first one so decided that it would be a good one to go with. Update: Just yesterday she posted a recipe for Easy Spasgna which is a simplified version of the Baked Spasagna. Since they all sound delicious, I will be making all three of them at some point.

Of course, I can never leave well enough alone so I did make some changes. I like to add additional vegetables to dishes like this so I added chopped onion, celery, carrots, red and yellow peppers. I am also a cheese head so had to add some additional cheese. I would love sliced black olives added to this, but hubby doesn’t like them, so I will have to save that for when I make this for a church potluck.

I broke the spaghetti in half before I cooked it, but had some trouble when mixing in the cream cheese. I may not have let the cream cheese soften enough. Next time I will break the spaghetti into thirds.

I used Ragu Sauce 4 Cheese flavor. I use 1/3 c. water to rinse out the sauce jar. This little bit of water, put in the empty sauce jar and shaken, gets all the sauce out of the jar and doesn't affect the flavor of the sauce. I have included that 1/3 c. water in the recipe.

I liked this dish a lot and will be making it again.

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti
adapted from Plain Chicken
12 oz. spaghetti
1 lb. lean ground beef
1/3 c. chopped onion
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/3 c. chopped carrot
1/3 c. chopped yellow pepper
1/3 c. chopped red pepper
1 (28 oz.) jar prepared spaghetti sauce
1/3 c. water
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese (low-fat is OK)
1 t. Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (8 oz.) pkg. shredded Italian cheese or mozzarella, divided
1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated (the refrigerated kind)

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. While water is heating and spaghetti is cooking, brown ground beef, onion, celery, carrots, red and yellow peppers until brown. Add spaghetti sauce. Rinse out sauce jar with measured out water and add to skillet. Drain cooked spaghetti. Put spaghetti back in pan and mix in cream cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic. Mix until spaghetti is thoroughly coated. Place a layer of sauce/ground beef mixture in bottom of a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Cover with spaghetti mixture. Sprinkle 1 c. of cheese over the spaghetti. Spread remaining sauce mixture over spaghetti. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove cover and sprinkle remaining cup of cheese and parmesan cheese over the top. Return to oven for 10 minutes until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Makes at least 8 servings.

Participating in this challenge is great fun. One can easily sit out any month if one is too busy or not interested in the subject. For information about participating in the challenge just click on over to Tina's blog.

Cheesy Garlic Biscuit Swirls

2012-03-04T01:00:00.001-08:00

Good Monday to all. Hope that your week goes great. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives to read my blog. I hope that you find the information here useful.

On Wednesday I will be posting the recipe that I made for March’s Crazy Cooking Challenge. This month’s assignment is for spaghetti. Today I am going to share a recipe that I often serve with Italian type dishes.

This is similar to the crescent post from last week but uses the large, canned biscuits such as Pillsbury Grands. I still am not sure that I can even call either a recipe. I usually buy the store brand of these unless the Grands are on sale. For best flavor use refrigerated Parmesan or Romano cheese. Those cheeses are much better than the shelf-stable kind.

These are very hearty, and one or two per person is usually plenty. Since there are eight biscuits in a can, this recipe will make 4 servings. The photos will show that I used the flakey type biscuit because I that is what I had on hand. Any type large biscuit can be used.

Cheese Garlic Biscuit Swirls
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 can large refrigerated biscuits such as Pillsbury Grands
1/4 c. grated Parmesan or Romano, the refrigerated kind

Combine melted butter, garlic powder and garlic. Open can of biscuits. Pat and stretch out one biscuit until it is about 4-5 inches in diameter. Lay biscuit on a greased jelly-roll pan. Brush biscuit with the melted butter. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon cheese on top of the butter. Roll biscuit up jelly-roll style. Move biscuit out of the way and repeat process with remaining biscuits. Brush the rolled up biscuits with more of the melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown. Brush again with any melted butter that is left.

Friday Finds

2012-03-02T05:23:00.000-08:00

Life or something like it has been going on so I have been MIA from Friday Favorite Finds for a couple of weeks. I did not have a lot of time to surf the internet this week either, but i did link up a couple of soup recipes to SoupaPalooza II over at Dine and Dish and Tidy Mom. While I was there I checked out some of the links that caught my eye, so this week's Friday Finds is all about soup.

Steak Soup

Eat2Gather

I still have a round steak or two in the freezer that I purchased before meat prices went crazy. I think that I will use one of them to make this. It looks like a nice departure from ground beef based soup.

Cornbread and Chili in a Jar

Whipperberry

I love chili and cornbread together and thought that this was a very fun way to serve it. I have not seen these little wide-mouth jars, but she give a link to good ole Amazon to purchase them. Both recipes are included, but one could use their own favorites.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Brown Acres

This is a favorite combination of mine. I am anxious to try this version which has sort of rolled dumplings.

Paprikash

Relishing It

I have heard of this but never made it. I will now. This picture makes me want to jump right into the bowl.

Broccoli, Bacon & Cheese Soup

Mom on Timeout

Broccoli and Cheese Soup is a favorite of mine, and I will eat almost anything if it has bacon in it. Maybe that addition would get this past hubby. If not, I will just have to make it for myself.

Ho To Tay Soup with Asian Dumplings

The Queen's Notebook

I have never made soup with any kind of wonton dumpling, but this one seems easy enough. I would have to leave out the mushroom for hubby but think that he would eat the rest of the ingredients.

Creamy Tomato Soup

Mrs. Yellow Hat

Made with canned, stewed tomatoes and chicken broth, this is one that could be whipped up in a hurry if the ingredients were on hand. Seems like a good recipe to know about.

Bean and Bacon Soup

Happier than a Pig in Mud

This is from one of my favorite blogs. Another quick-to-make soup if one has the ingredients on hand; and, of course, there is that bacon again.

Chicken and Rice Soup

Chasing Delicious

This recipe cooks the rice right in the soup which saves a step, I think. The blogger wrote this post about making soup when she was sick. It is a good read.

Homemade Soup Jar Mix

Moving Mommy

This would be a great inexpensive gift idea and gets away from the sweets people usually get. This and the rest of the ingredients could be taken to a new mother or someone recovering from being in the hospital and would be most welcome I am sure.

Well, that is 10 recipes so I am going to stop here, but with 220 recipes in SoupaPalooza I and 238, and counting, recipes in SoupaPalooza II, I don't think that I will have to go far to find a new soup recipe to try.

SoupaPalooza II is open until March 5 so if you have a great soup recipe to share, you can find the details here.

As always the photos were taken by and are the property of the owners of the respective blogs represented.

I am linking to Friday Favorite Finds at Finding Joy in My Kitchen and am looking forward to seeing what other bloggers have found this week, too.

February Package Pal Reveal

2012-03-01T22:29:00.000-08:00

I have mentioned that although this blog is about food, I do have other interests and visit craft, home dec, sewing and quilting blogs.

Earlier, I was reading the blog C.R.A.F.T. and found she was hosting an exchange for February. I decided to join in and was accepted.

My exchange partner was Lauren at Concrete Jungle Crafts. One of my granddaughters is named Lauren, so that was a nice coincidence. She lives and crafts in New Jersey.

I read Lauren’s blog and found that she like birds. I had some fabric called Bird Song that I thought would be perfect for her. This is what I sent:

Mug Rugs/Coasters

Tea Towels

Hot Pads/Pot Holders

Eco Tote for Grocery Shopping

Lauren does paper crafts and has an esty shop. This is what she sent me:

I am going to hang this in my sewing studio. It will make me smile when I see it.

This was a fun exchange. I hope that I am one of the 100 people that get to do it again when sign ups come around again in March.

Linking to Package Pal Reveal

Ingredient Spotlight-Cheesy Garlic Crescent Rolls

2012-02-29T01:00:00.002-08:00

I am almost embarrassed to even call this a recipe, but the subject for today’s Ingredient Spotlight is crescent rolls and other canned biscuits and rolls. These are so good. You bite into them and find ooey, gooey melted cheese inside.

Any kind of cheese can be used in these. I use mozzarella when I make them for Italian type dishes, pepper jack when using with Mexican type dishes, and cheddar with lots of different dishes. The cheddar cheese rolls are really wonderful with tomato soup.

I buy cheese by the loaf, so I make cheese “sticks” that are about 1/4-inch x 1/4-inch x 2 1/2 inches long to make these. If sliced cheese is used, just cut slices into 1/4-inch strips and stack them until they are 1/4-inch tall.

I sometimes add other herbs such as oregano, basil, rosemary, etc. to these.

Cheesy Garlic Crescent Rolls
1 can Crescent Rolls
3 T. butter
1/2 t. garlic powder
8 1/4-inch “sticks” cheese of your choice (see above)

Melt butter in a glass measuring cup. Add garlic powder and let stand for 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Open can of crescent rolls and unroll a triangle. Brush triangle with the melted garlic butter. Place a “stick” of cheese along the large end of the triangle. Roll triangle from large to small end, encasing the cheese inside the dough. Place on foil-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Brush each roll with more garlic butter. Bake at 375 degrees 11-15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush rolls with any remaining garlic butter. Makes 8 rolls.

Linking to: Ingredient Spotlight

February Foodie Pen Pal Reveal Day

2012-02-28T01:00:00.002-08:00

Today is the day to share what we received from our February Foodie Pen Pal. If you don’t know about this fun swap, this is how it goes: Your are given the name of a blogger to sent food/kitchen-related items to. A different blogger is given your name to send to you. The spending limit $15. Postage usually runs me around $11.00 This is all hosted by Lindsey at The Lean Green Bean. She has swaps for both the US and Canada. If it sounds as if it would be fun, you can head on over here to get all the details. Applications for the March exchange close on March 4th. The swap is month-to-month so you can "sit out" any month that you want to.

This month the blogger who sent to me was Jessica from Fit Talker (and Eater). She sent me such a great package that the only thing I could say when I opened it was WOW. In her note Jessica said she always tries to send packages that she would like to receive. Well, believe me, I was happy to receive this one.

Aren’t these just the cutest measuring spoon? Jessica says one can never have too many, and I agree. They go so nicely with my favorite silicone spatulas. I have put up a special hook in my kitchen to hold these as they just make me smile when I look at them.

Granola and dried fruit. I like granola, but I don’t buy it because I am always going to make it myself. Then I don’t, so I don’t have any. I put the dried fruit and the granola together for a trail mix-like snack to take to work with me. Very tasty.

I did not open these right away because I Knew, Knew that when I did, I would not be able to stay out of them. I did force myself to ration them out so was able to enjoy them over several days. Jessica really had me here as I will eat almost anything that is chocolate covered.

These little gems taste like a softer Butterfinger. Butterfingers are a favorite of mine so I really loved these. Through sheer will power I actually have a couple of these left.

Chocolate Chip Brownie and Oat Bars. Very good and a favorite of Jessica’s. I can see why. They have oats in them so that makes them healthy, right?

Each package must contain something handwritten so here is Jessica’s note with some great mardi gras beads. So fun, and she decorated my name up so cute. Jessica, thank you so much. It was all wonderful.

One fun thing about this exchange is receiving brands of goodies that are different from what you can buy locally. This usually results in me going to the internet to see if they are available by mail. This must be great for internet business.

My package went to The Crazy Cooking Couple who blog in the Washington DC area. You can visit them to see what I sent.

If you are curious to see what other Foodie Pen Pals received just hop on over to The Lean Green to check them out.

Sausage Potato and Corn Chowder

2012-02-27T11:42:00.003-08:00

Good Monday. It appears there are no new followers to welcome this week. I do want to say my usual thank you to all who take the time to read my blog. I know that you all have busy lives, and I appreciate it.

Since February’s Foodie Pen Pal reveal is tomorrow and so is the start of SoupaPalooza, I decided to post a soup recipe today. We love soup and have it often for lunch. One type of soup that we especially love is potato soup.

When I posted the Confetti Potato and Ham Soup recipe, I said that it was one of my two favorite potato soups. Sausage Potato and Corn Chowder is the other one. This provides another use for breakfast sausage other than just cooking it for breakfast If I can find it on sale, I love Jimmy Dean sausage in this, but any ground sausage will work. I usually use a locally-made sausage that is sold for a very reasonable price. The original recipe called for a can of low sodium chicken broth. I have changed the recipe to use the water the potatoes are cooked in and Better than Bouillon chicken flavor. Granulated bouillon may also be used.

This is a hearty chowder that makes a lot so it is a good choice for a “Soup Supper”. Add some hot bread and a salad and you will be well fed at a very inexpensive price.

The chowder has a tendency to thicken up when it is refrigerated so a little more milk or water may need to be added upon reheating. This soup actually gets better with age, so it is perfect to make ahead and reheat.

This recipe has been in the files on my computer for a very long time, and I do not know where it came from.

Sausage Potato and Corn Chowder
5 to 6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 lb. pork sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 to 1/2 c. diced red pepper
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. flour
2 t. Better than Bouillon Chicken Flavor or granulated chicken bouillon
5 to 6 cups milk
1 (1 lb.) cans cream style corn
salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until just crisp/tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile brown sausage, onion, red pepper and garlic in a large cooking pot. Do not drain. Stir flour into sausage and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add milk, 2 cups of the potato cooking water, and the Better than Bouillon. Bring to a boil, stirring often to prevent scorching. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and add drained potatoes and the cream corn. Return to heat and cook on low until ingredients are heated through. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset”

Linking to: SoupaPalooza

Apple Pecan Spice Cake

2012-02-25T03:38:00.002-08:00

Sorry to have been MIA the last week or so. Life or something like it, a minor accident, ISP issues and very windy weather have kept my time on the internet to a minimum.

I want to say welcome to any new followers. Thank you for following my blog. Thanks also to all who take the time out of their busy schedules to read this blog. I hope that you find useful information here.

Everyone knows my sweet tooth so I am posting a cake recipe today.

A few weeks ago when I made the Red Velvet Cherry Bars, I took some to work to share with my coworkers. A question came up as to whether or not one could take a spice cake mix and apple pie filling to make another version of the recipe. Well, always Curious George, I had to find out. I am glad to say that I was very pleased with the results. I added pecans to the cake mixture, poked holes in the cake when it was baked, and poured a caramel glaze over the top.

Since the apple slices are bigger than cherries are, I dumped the apple pie filling on top of the cake mix; and, using my kitchen shears held vertically, just sort of snipped at the apple slices until they were as small as I wanted. I then beat and added the eggs and mixed everything until well blended.

Since, I, personally, am not a real fan of spice cake mixes I think that in the future I will use butter pecan or yellow cake mix to make this. I took some of the cake to the spice-cake-loving person at work, and she pronounced it very good.

I will keep a cake mix and a can of apple pie on-hand so that I can whip this up at a moment's notice.

Apple Pecan Spice Cake
1 pkg. Spice, Butter Pecan, or Yellow Cake Mix
1 (21 oz.) can apple pie filling
2 eggs, beaten
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped toasted pecans

Glaze
6 T. butter
6 T. white sugar
6 T. brown sugar
6 T. heavy cream or evaporated milk
1 t. vanilla

Place cake mix in a medium mixing bowl. Pour the apple pie filling on top of the cake mix. Holding them vertically, use kitchen shears to chop the apple slices into smaller pieces. Add beaten eggs and vanilla and mix until very well blended. Add pecans and mix well. Turn into a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes. With a barbecue skewer or other pointed instrument poke holes at 1-inch intervals or so all over the cake. Combine glaze ingredients except vanilla in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Boil 1 1/2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour hot glaze over the top of the cake spreading evenly. Let cake cool. Makes one 9x13-inch cake.

Cooking from the Blogs-What I Made

2012-02-19T12:27:00.000-08:00

Recently I made a couple of blog recipes that I managed to take photos of. Both of these were great and will go into my regular recipe rotation.

Since I make lunch for hubby and me everyday, I am always looking for something new that will provide more variety than my old standbys. I had seen this recipe for French Dip Crescents and Easy Au Jus over at Mommy Loves Food and included it in one of my Friday Finds. When I ran across deli roast beef at a great sale price, I bought some to make this. I used cheddar cheese instead of Swiss. These were very good and hubby said that he would eat them from time to time. I had two left over that I took for lunch at work. Although the meat was a little dry, they reheated nicely in the microwave. I liked the homemade au jus very much, but I would double the recipe next time so that I could put some in the freezer as we used all of it.

In my last Cooking from the Blogs post I had made Roasted Potato Stacks which were very good. Those were made by stacking slices of potato in muffin pans. This time I made Crisp Roast Potatoes from Amanda’s Cookin which was her Secret Recipe Club recipe this month. For this dish you slice the potatoes thinly and place them on their edges in a baking pan. She used shallots. I didn’t have any so use red onion slices instead. I halved the recipe since there were just the two of us and knew that there would still be leftovers. I used a 7x11-inch baking dish and ended up using about nine medium potatoes to fill the dish. I mixed some garlic powder with the butter and olive oil that is poured over the potatoes and used Spice Islands Rosemary Garlic Grinder as my seasonings. Hubby said the these reheated well in the microwave when he fixed them for dinner the next night. This was another fun way to serve potatoes, and I will make these often.

Improv Challenge-Ginger Glazed Carrots with Pecans

2012-02-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

Carrots and ginger are the ingredients for February’s Improv Challenge being hosted by Kristen at Frugal Antics of a Harried Housewife. Since I love to make side dishes, I decided that is what I would go with for this challenge. I teamed the carrots and ginger with butter, brown sugar, and pecans. I can almost say that even “cooked carrot haters” might eat this dish.

I like to use baby carrots cut in half vertically but regular carrots cut into 2-inch sticks will work also. If any of the baby carrots are thick, cut those into quarters. I cut the pecans into lengthwise slivers also.

The carrot mixture can also be turned into a small casserole and heated in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Watch carefully and stir once or twice.

Ginger Glazed Carrots with Pecans
1 lb. baby carrots
3 T. butter
3 T. brown sugar
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 c. vertically chopped pecans
Dash freshly ground pepper
Finely chopped green onions for garnish if desired

Cut carrots in half lengthwise and cook in boiling, salted water until crisp tender. Drain well. Melt butter in same saucepan that carrots were cooked in. Add brown sugar and ginger and cook until sugar is melted. Add pecans and cook over low 5 to 7 minutes, watching carefully and stirring often until pecans are well coated. Return carrots to saucepan with butter/sugar/pecan mixture. Cook over medium heat, watching carefully and stirring often until carrots are heated through. Makes 4 servings.

The ingredients for the Improv Challenge for March are potatoes and cheese (any kind). To learn more about joining the challenge, head on over to Kristen's blog for the details.

Fruited Rice Pilaf

2012-02-15T01:00:00.000-08:00

When Brenda at Meal Planning Magic sent an email about her new Let’s Eat the Alphabet monthly link-up, I though it would be loads of fun. This month the letters were A and/or B. We could link up any recipe containing a fruit or a vegetable whose name started with those letters.

I chose apricots and decided to make a side dish that used them. My choice was to make a rice/vermicelli pilaf similar to a Rice-a-roni side dish. With the rice/vermicelli I used butter, dried apricots, dried cranberries, dried minced onion, chicken broth, salt, allspice and almonds.

This is a versatile recipe and raisins or other dried fruit can be used with the apricots. I have varied the seasonings in this and have used nutmeg, curry, cinnamon, and Chinese 5-Spice instead of the allspice. Walnuts or pecans are good in this also.

I like Calrose rice for this as it doesn’t cook up as soft as long grain rice, but long grain rice can be used.

This makes a very pretty side dish. I sometimes garnish it with some chopped green onion for additional color. It is very nice with pork or chicken..

Fruited Rice Pilaf
1 T. butter
1 c. Calrose rice
1/2 c. vermicelli
1/2 c. chopped dried apricots
1/4 c. chopped dried cranberries
1 T. minced onion
2 c. chicken broth (low sodium)
1 t. salt
1/2 t. allspice or other desired spice
!/2 c. sliced almonds, preferable toasted

Melt the butter in a medium size saucepan. Add the rice and vermicelli and cook until vermicelli starts to turn golden brown. Watch carefully and stir often. Add the apricots, cranberries, onion, chicken broth, salt, and desired spice. Bring to boil. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and stir in sliced almonds. Turn into a serving dish and garnish with more almonds and sliced green onion. Serves 4.

Happy Valentine’s Day

2012-02-14T14:07:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to welcome my new followers and to thank all who take the time out of their busy lives to read my blog. YOU ARE ALL ANGELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Back tomorrow with a recipe.

Curried Raspberry Catalina Pork Tenderloin

2012-02-12T14:20:00.000-08:00

I will be working Valentine’s Day evening so I made a special little dinner for hubby and me last night. Every three or four months, Safeway sells Hormel Pork Tenderloins on Fridays for $5. These weight about 24 oz. These usually sell for $10.99! I NEVER buy them at that price, but I do get several when they are on sale.

I like to play around with what I do with the tenderloins and never seem to make them the same way twice. This time I decided that I wanted to make something with a Valentine theme. I couldn’t come up with any way to make the meat pink so decided I would try red. I used black raspberry jam since that is what I had open in the fridge. My red is very dark.

This is just a take-off of the apricot jam/Catalina or Russian dressing/onion soup mix chicken recipe. I used raspberry jam and the ingredients that go into a homemade Catalina dressing recipe. I make my own onion soup mix so used that, and I added curry powder just because I like it. I liked the sauce with 1/2 c. sugar, but some may not like it as sweet so start with 1/3 c.

Pork tenderloin cooks quickly so this was on the table in about an hour. Be sure to use a foil-lined baking pan for this for easy clean-up.

As usual, I had no sunlight by the time this was cooked, so the photo was taken today and is the piece that was left over so no pic of the whole tenderloin.

Curried Raspberry Catalina Pork Tenderloin
1/3 to 1/2 c. sugar
1 t. salt
dash paprika (smoked if available)
1/4 t. chili powder
1/2 t. celery seed
1/4 t. dry mustard
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 to 1 t. curry powder
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/3 c. ketchup
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 envelope dry onion soup mix (or make your own)
1 c. raspberry or black raspberry jam
1 24 oz. boneless pork tenderloin
1-2 T. vegetable or olive oil

In a medium saucepan combine sugar, salt, paprika, chili powder, celery seed, dry mustard, garlic powder, curry powder, vinegar, ketchup, vegetable oil, soup mix and raspberry jam. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to thicken, about 10 to 15 minutes. Watch carefully and stir often. While sauce is cooking, brown pork tenderloin on all sides in hot oil. Place in a foil-lined baking dish. Place part of the sauce in a small bowl and brush onto the meat. Roast meat at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes, basting with the sauce every 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven when temperatures reaches 155 to 160 degrees. Let stand at least 5 minutes before slicing. Leave sauce on very low heat and allow to thicken to desired consistency, stirring often. Serve sauce to spoon over slices of meat. Makes 4 generous servings. This turned out pork that was very juicy and flavorful.

Friday Finds

2012-02-10T05:46:00.000-08:00

Another week of being "all-over-the-map" with my Finds. Some finds that I think will be great for lunches, some new potato recipes; and, of course, some cookies for Valentine's Day (or any other day for that matter).

French Dipped Crescents

Easy Au Jus

Mommy Loves Food

This recipe uses deli roast beef, and I think this is a great idea for when you have a craving for French Dip, but want it quick and easy. I usually have crescent rolls on hand, and this is a new-to-me thing to do with them.

Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza Puffs
Plain Chicken

I am always, always looking for new ideas for food that is pizza-flavored without actually being pizza. This one looks really good and could be varied a lot according to one's likes and dislikes.

Classic Tomato Soup
Tales of the T's

Hubby isn't much of a tomato soup eater, but I like it. I think I would enjoy this one with a grilled cheese sandwich, too.

Oven Fried Potato Crisps
Little Mommy, Big Appetite

Not exactly potato chips, but these well-seasoned crisps would be nice to serve with the French Dipped Crescents above.

Crispy Roast Potatoes
Amanda's Cookin

These potatoes would be a nice change for a side dish to serve with meat recipes that are being cooked in the oven. I think these would be great with meat loaf.

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Bites
Six Sister's Stuff

White Chocolate Cherry M&M Cookies
Inside Bru Crew Life

I would just love it if my Sweetie brought me either of these cookies. (Now he doesn't cook so it is not too likely that will happen.) Chocolate and cherries are one of my favorite combinations. The Chocolate Covered Cherry Bits would feel like extending Christmas. I did not know that there were Cherry M&Ms. I am on the hunt now to find some so I can make the White Chocolate Cherry M&M Cookies. Both are perfect Valentine's Day sweet, I think.

That is my list for the week. I will be linking up to Friday Favorite Finds and checking out all the goodies that other bloggers have found this week.

As always, the photos were taken by and are the property of the owners of the respective blogs represented.

The Convenience of Ready Cooked Potatoes

2012-02-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

One of the most convenient things to have in your kitchen is some refrigerated, all-ready-cooked potatoes. Of course, frozen potatoes have been available at the grocery stores for a long time, and refrigerated potatoes have shown up in recent years. It doesn’t take much effort, however, to make a supply of all-ready-cooked potatoes yourself. Russets, reds, and Yukon gold potatoes are all varieties that can be cooked up and kept on hand for a few days.

I like to select whole potatoes of a similar size and steam them until they are just tender, but the potatoes can also be boiled; and Russets can be baked in the oven or the microwave. There is no need to peel that potatoes before cooking. Reds and Yukon golds can be served with the skins on. My hubby doesn’t like skin on any type of potato, so I do peel them after cooking. The potatoes can be grated for hash browns and cubed for soup and other dishes.

So with all-ready cooked potatoes, you can make country hash browns. We all probably have our favorite recipe for these.

You can make potato soup. I posted one of my two favorite potato soup recipes here.

You can use the potatoes to make sauced potatoes.. Just cube the potatoes and add them to white sauce, cheese sauce, curry flavored sauce or other flavors. Make the amount of sauce necessary for the amount of potatoes you are using.

One of my favorite things to do with all-ready cooked potatoes is to make a Meat, Potato, Egg Scramble. As Rachael Ray says this can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The meat can be almost whatever you have on hand: sausage, bacon, ham cubes, Italian sausage, ground beef, link sausage-just whatever you have on hand. If you cook the meat ahead of time, this is very quick to put together. It may be changed up by using different seasonings. I use chili powder and cumin for southwest, Greek seasoning for Greek, Italian seasoning or oregano and fennel seeds for Italian. I use other seasoning blends, mainly whatever I am in the mood for.

Meat, Potato, Egg Scramble
1/2 to1 lb. meat or bacon, cooked
or 6 slices bacon, cooked
3 T. bacon grease, butter, margarine, olive or salad oil
1/3 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped red or green pepper (opt.)
6 potatoes, cooked and cubed
1 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
4 to 6 eggs, depending on how many people are eating
2 T. milk for 4 eggs and 3 T. milk for 6 eggs
Shredded cheese of your choice (opt.)

Heat bacon grease or other fat in a large skillet. Add onion and pepper and cook about 5 minutes. Add potatoes, salt and pepper and other seasonings of choice. Cook until potatoes are golden brown, turning occasionally. Add meat of choice and continue cooking until it is heated through. In a bowl, mix eggs with milk until well blended. Pour over potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally until the eggs have set. Sprinkle cheese over the top and let melt or serve cheese on the side to sprinkle over individual servings. Serves 6. Reheat leftovers in the microwave or a skillet.

Linked to: It's a Keeper Thursday
Tastetastic Thursday
What's Cooking Thursdays
Creative Juices
Low Cost Food Challenge Link Up
Full Plate Thursday
Twisted Thursday

Ingredient Spotlight-Sesame or Sunflower Seed Toffee

2012-02-08T04:05:00.000-08:00

Sesame Toffee

There are lots of recipes around for toffee made with the more common nuts such as walnuts, almonds or pecans. This toffee is made with sesame or sunflower seeds, and is a nice, quickly-made, unusual candy that you might want to include in a Valentine’s Day candy box next week. If you know someone who likes sesame or sunflower seeds, they will love it.

I clipped the recipe from the 1969 issue of Sunset magazine and have made it often. Wrapped air tight, the candy will stay fresh and hard indefinitely.

A candy thermometer is necessary to make this recipe. A nice metal one can be purchased for less than $10. Each time a candy thermometer is used, it should be checked for accuracy. Heat some water to a full rolling boil and place the thermometer into the water, but do not let it touch the bottom of the pan. The thermometer should reach 212 degrees. If the thermometer reads a lower or higher degree, adjust for the difference when making the candy. Have the vanilla and salt containers open so they can be measured quickly when the candy reaches the desired temperature.

If you can only find salted sunflower seeds then pour the seeds into a cotton dish towel and rub the towel between your hands to remove as much salt as possible. Lay the towel down and lift the seeds from it with a slotted spoon. Discard the salt. Omit the salt from the recipe.

To toast the sesame or sunflower seeds, spread out in a 10x15-inch jelly roll pan and toast at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, watching carefully and stirring frequently, until they are a pale golden color

Sunflower Toffee

Sesame Seed or Sunflower Seed Toffee

5 oz. sesame seeds or sunflower seeds (about 1 c.)
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1 c. sugar
12 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt (omit if sunflower seeds are salted) see above

Spray a large cookie sheet with nonstick spray. Set aside. Melt butter in a heavy 2-qt. saucepan; mix in corn syrup and sugar and cook over highest heat, stirring frequently, until a candy thermometer reaches 290 degrees. (This goes very quickly, about 5 to 10 minutes.) Remove at once from heat and quickly stir in remaining ingredients. Pour mixture into prepared pan spreading as evenly as possible. Let stand until cool and hard. The pan may be placed in the refrigerator to hasten cooling if necessary. Break into bite-size pieces and store air-tight until ready to serve. Makes about 1 lb.

Linking to Ingredient Spotlight
Cast Party Wednesday
These Chicks Cooked
Wow Me Wednesday-Ginger Snap Crafts
Wow Me Wednesday-Polka Dots on Parade
We Did It Wednesday
Overflowing with Creativity
What Works for Me
Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party
Sweet Treats Thursday

Chocolate Ripple No-Machine Ice Cream

2012-02-07T23:02:00.000-08:00

I planned to post this, this afternoon, but my somewhat unpredictable satellite internet connection was down and did not come up before I had to leave for work. It is after 10 here on the west coast so most of you are already sleeping. Anyway, even though very belated, here it is
.

After my Fudge Ripple Cake that didn’t ripple saga, I decided that I need to console myself by making some Chocolate Ripple No-Machine Ice Cream.

I wrote a whole post about the wonders of No-Machine Ice Cream last year, so I will post how I made the Chocolate Ripple here.

Sorry about the photo. This is a soft-serve ice cream, and it was trying to melt.

Chocolate Ripple No-Machine Ice Cream
1 pt. whipping cream
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 T. pure vanilla extract
chocolate syrup such as Hershey or use homemade. I just squirt it straight from the container and use about 1/3 to 1/2cup.

Using an electric mixer, whip the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until thoroughly blended. Pour into an 8-inch square pan or other 2 quart container. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in freezer for 2 to 3 hours until partially frozen. Remove from freezer and squirt chocolate syrup in lines on the top of the ice cream. Swirl the chocolate syrup through the ice cream using a fork. Return to freezer. Freeze until firm, about 6 hours. Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.

Linking to: Tasty Tuesday
Tip Me Tuesday
Tuesday Time Out
Tuesdays at the Table
Crazy Sweet Tuesday
Show Me What Ya Got
Totally Tasty Tuesday
Trick or Treat Tuesday

Crazy Cooking Challenge-Fudge Ripple Cake

2012-02-07T09:00:00.001-08:00

When I saw this cake at Mrs. Happy Homemaker, I knew that I had to make it. Her cake looked wonderful and delicious. I had only one problem (I thought), and that was that I did not have any layer cake pans. I never make layer cakes and long ago disposed of my pans. Nevertheless, I knew that I would forge on. Thus begins the Saga of the Fudge Ripple Cake.

I gathered my ingredients and stirred up the cake. I use Saco Cultured Buttermilk Blend so I used that instead of liquid buttermilk. I decided to use butter instead of the shortening that was used in the original recipe. I lined a 9x13-inch pan with foil so that I could remove the cake from the pan easily.

Next I stirred up the cream cheese/sweetened condensed milk topping. I make my own homemade sweetened condensed milk so I had made up a batch of that. I poured the mixture over the cake batter and baked the cake. When I took the cake from the oven I noticed that the top did not look like the pictures in Mrs. Happy Homemaker’s post. It didn’t seem like a problem.

Since I was going to lose daylight to take pictures, I let the cake set overnight before I made the frosting. The next day I made up the frosting. I had only 1 cup of cocoa so used that instead of the 1 1/3 cups cocoa asked for. The frosting was plenty chocolaty enough for me, but use the 1 1/3 cups if you are really into chocolate.

I removed the cake from the pan and put it in a jelly-roll pan to frost as I have nothing in which to store a rectangular cake that is not left in the pan. Being far from a cake decorator, I did my best to apply the frosting. I did have frosting left over which I froze to use another time.

I cut my cake through the middle anxious to see the ripple. Oh my! There were no ripples. What there was, was a layer of cream cheese underneath the cake. So what happened? Well, perhaps two things. When I made the homemade sweetened condensed milk, I almost burned it. Since I wasn’t sure that I would be able to use that batch, I poured the whole batch into a plastic container instead of dividing it up like I always did in the past. The milk may not have thickened up as much as it should have before I used it. I used low-fat cream cheese. Maybe I should have used the regular. I may have forgotten the cornstarch. At any rate this is what the bottom of my cake looked like.

Was all lost? Of course not. The cake is a moist chocolaty cake just the way I like it. The frosting is firm and fudgy and stays in place. And the cream cheese layer is a little surprise at the bottom. In spite of what happened, this is a very good cake

So make this cake. Ripple or no ripples you will be glad you did. I am giving you the exact ingredients Mrs. Happy Homemaker did.

Fudge Ripple Cake
Mrs. Happy Homemaker blog

For the cake:
1/2 cup shortening
1.5 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1.5 teaspoon baking soda
1.5 cups buttermilk

For the Ripple:
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Frosting:
2/3 cup butter, softened
5 3/4 cups powdered sugar (I did put it through a sieve)
1 1/3 cups cocoa
1 heaping cup heavy cream

Grease and flour two (9-inch) round cake pans. Beat shortening and sugar together with an electric mixer. Add in the eggs, beating on medium speed. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk ending with the flour mixture. Beat 3 minutes at high speed, stopping once to scrape down sides. Stir in the vanilla. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.

Beat cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, and cornstarch at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add the sweetened condensed milk, beating well. Mix in egg and vanilla. Divide the cream cheese mixture between the two cake pans, pouring on top and spreading to evenly cover the cake batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. After removing from the oven, use a large spatula or wide knife to press the cake down somewhat. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Using electric mixer, beat 2/3 cup butter until creamy. Add in the powdered sugar, cocoa and heavy cream. Stir in low until combined. Beat at high speed until creamy. Spread frosting between the cake layers and on top and sides of cake. Slice. Enjoy. Repeat.

Since I did not get any ripples in my cake, I decided to make Chocolate Ripple No-Machine Ice Cream to serve with the cake. I will be back with that post later today.

Be sure to check out the links below to see all the great chocolate cakes that other bloggers have made.

Nutella Raspberry Meringue Bars

2012-02-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

Good Monday morning to all. Thanks for taking the time out of your busy lives to stop and read this blog. A warm welcome to my new followers. I am so glad that you are here. I hope that you find the information
posted here useful.

Not sure what happen here. Blogger attached this to my Sunday post. I copied it to a PDF, deleted the post, and pasted into a new editor. I then had to adjust the lines of text. Even though the editor shows that they are OK, there seems to be this weird spacing. Enjoy the recipe anyway.

When I was thinking about making something with Nutella, I thought of some things I liked: Nutella, of course;
raspberries certainly; hazelnuts, sure. So, with a nod to World Nutella Day, which was Sunday, I offer up Nutella Raspberry Meringue Bars. This is a somewhat shortcake-like base with a layer of Nutella, covered with a layer of raspberry jam, and topped with hazelnuts in meringue.

This recipe uses eggs that are separated with the whites then being beaten. Eggs separate easier if they are cold, so separate the eggs and let the yolks and whites come to warm temperature. This take about 30 minutes. If you are in a hurry, the containers that the eggs are in can be set in some warm water.

Before I get to the recipe, I want to say a few words in praise of the off-set spatula.

If you do not have one of these handy little gadgets, spend a few dollars and buy one. They will change your life in the kitchen. This one is about a 4-inch size which I find so handy I don’t know what I would do without it. It was a very important tool in make these cookies. An off-set spatula gives you control that you cannot get with a regular metal or rubber spatula.

Now, on to the cookie recipe.

Nutella Raspberry Meringue Bars
2 eggs, separated and brought to room temperature
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. Nutella (or more if desired)
1 c. raspberry jam (or more if desired)
1/8 t. cream of tartar
2/3 c. sugar
2 T. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped hazelnuts, toasted

In a large bowl combine flour and brown sugar. With a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles
fine crumbs. Add egg yolks and continue cutting in until mixture again resembles fine crumbs. Press mixture
into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees 15 minutes until lightly browned.
Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes.

Turn measured-out Nutella into the center of the baked crust. As Nutella softens and melts spread with offset
spatula from the center to the edges of the baked base. Let stand 10 minutes.

Measure jam into a glass measuring cup. Place in microwave and microwave 15-30 seconds to soften jam
slightly. Stir. Turn out into center of the Nutella topped base and spread with off-set spatula from the
center to the edges of the Nutella covered base.

While base is cooling, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer until soft mounds form.
Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in flour, vanilla, and hazelnuts. Spread
meringue on top of jam layer. Return to oven and bake 10-15 minutes more until meringue is light brown.
Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Cut into squares with a wet knife. These are very rich so you may
want to cut them small. Makes about 36.

Linking to: What Make You Say Mmmmm Monday

Homemaker Monday

Making Monday Marvelous

Marvelous Mess Monday

Melt in Your Mouth Monday

Mrs. Fox's Sweets Party

Sweet Treats Thursday

Strut Your Stuff

Cooking from the Blogs-What I Made

2012-02-05T15:37:00.001-08:00

It has been awhile since I did a “Cooking from the Blogs” post. That is not because I have been using recipes that I have found on other’s blogs, but because I don’t always get pictures taken.

Here are three recipes that I did get pictures of:

Roasted Potato Stacks from Little Momma Big Appetite. When I saw these I knew that I had to try them. I am always looking for new ways to fix potatoes. These were a lot of fun to make and serve. I had to take this photo after the potatoes were refrigerated for a couple of days, and my stacks are trying to fall over. I did vary the recipe by adding a thin slice of onion in the center of the stack. There are many ways that the recipe could be varied by using different spices and blends. The next time I make these, I am going to sub butter for half the olive oil and reduce the total fat to 1/4 cup. I will be making these often. Thanks Little Mamma.

Enchilada Verdes from Mom’s Crazy Cooking. I have a enchilada recipe we like that is made with ground beef and red enchilada sauce. When I saw this I knew that I wanted to make this variation. Most enchilada recipes call for ingredients that my hubby doesn’t care for, but this one did not. I did not have any pimientos on hand so I added red peppers to the filling ingredients and used my Homemade Cream Soup for the cream of chicken soup. When I rolled the tortillas, I added a spoon full of cheese sauce to the filling. We though these were great, and hubby had them for dinner the following two nights that I was at work. These will be on our table often. My apologies to Tina, I took the enchiladas out of the fridge to take this photo so they were cold.

Pizza Soup from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures. I made this for lunch yesterday. So simple and easy. I had only 1/2 pound of Italian sausage, so I upped the macaroni to 1 1/2 c. to have a bit more "stuff" in the soup. I cooked onion and red peppers with the sausage. Lynn puts the cheese right into the soup, but I opted to sprinkle it on each bowl. I served this with crescent rolls that I had wrapped around a quarter inch piece of cheese cut from a block of mozzarella. You can see a bit of cheese seeping out of the roll in the photo. Next time I will use two cans or jars of spaghetti sauce and not so much water. This soup will be going in the soup recipe rotation.

Last weekend I hit a bifecta (I know, that is not a word.) I made two meals hubby absolutely loved. I made the pork roast I posted on Monday and Bourbon Chicken on Sunday. I took the Bourbon Chicken leftovers to work on Monday and never did get a picture. This recipe is here and there around the net, but I first found it at Blog Chef. I used chicken thighs and boned them myself. That is what you get if you order this at most mall Food Courts. I did dust the chicken with cornstarch before browning it. Also, I used sherry in place of the apple juice as I did not want to open a big bottle which is all I had. (note toe self: pick up a six-pack of small cans of apple juice.) The chicken was all everyone has said it was and was a nice change from sweet and sour. I served this with fried rice.

Friday Finds

2012-02-03T05:26:00.000-08:00

Since the Super Bowl is on Sunday, it seems everyone is thinking about snacks and recipes for Super Bowl parties. So, If I was going to watch the Super Bowl, and If I was going to have a party, here are some links to recipes that I would make.

Pizza Sticks

Accidentally Wonderful

This would be great for lunches as well as snacks. Crescent rolls, string cheese, and pepperoni. This idea has lots of possibilities.

I just recently subscribed to 4 Little Fergusons, and what a wonderful blog it is. When I visited, I could barely tear myself away. Tonya has many great recipes, period, but some are really great for a Super Bowl Party. I could not pick just one, but I did settle for three.

Corn Dip
4 Little Fergusons

There are a number of Corn Dip recipes around, but I don't think there are any that are simpler than this: Onion Dip, Mexicorn, and Rotel Tomatoes. Can you get simpler than that? Keep these three ingredients on hand, and you are ready for a party at any time.

Cheddar Bacon aka Crack Dip
4 Little Fergusons

Sour cream, cheese, bacon bits and Ranch dip mix. Be still my heart. No wonder this one's neckname is "Crack" dip. This is another one that could be rustled up in a hurry if the ingredients are on hand.

Coyote Poo
4 Little Fergusons

You know that I love recipes with unusual names. How fun is this one? This is essentially caramelized crunchy Cheetos. We are not big on potato chips, but we do like our cheese snacks. If there was a list of the top 10 Ultimate Junk Foods, this surely would be near the top. Even so, I definitely have to try this one.

My favorite part of a chicken is the wing. If I were having a Super Bowl Party, I would certainly have to serve wings. Here are a couple of ideas I found that look just great.

Sticky Peanut Butter and Jelly Wings

The Noble Pig

Naked Wings with Three Sauces

Pocket Change Gourmet

I would also need some potato skins.

Loaded Potato Skins

Pocket Change Gourmet

Last, but definitely not least, I would have to make this cake.

Fudge Ripple Cake

Mrs. Happy Homemaker

Of course, if I made all of the above, I would be too tired to enjoy a party and would probably just want to take a nap. Have fun if you are going to watch the game and party.

The photos were taken by and are the property of the owners of the respective blogs represented.

I am sure that there will be many more great recipes links shared today at Friday Favorite Finds over at Finding Joy in My Kitchen.

V-8 Veggie Crackers

2012-02-02T00:32:00.000-08:00

Recently I have come across a couple of recipes for crackers, Ranch Crackers and Chili Cheese Crackers. That reminded me of how easy and fun it is to make them. Besides being fun, homemade crackers have a fresher taste and no preservative ingredients. Many different ingredients can be added to crackers, limited only by the imagination.

I have a recipe that I clipped from Sunset magazine many, many years ago that I use as a basic recipe to make crackers. Recently I made V-8 Veggie Crackers. I used V-8 Vegetable Juice and ground Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix. I whirled the soup mix in my spice grinder until it was finely ground. I cannot buy dried mixed vegetables where I live; but, if I could, I would use 1/2 c. of that. The crackers will be an orange-red color from the V-8 Juice. The dough may be spiced-up with a few drops of hot sauce.

I use all white whole wheat flour, but a combination of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour can be used. The wheat germ can be omitted, but I use it to add extra nutrition.

Kosher salt can be sprinkled lightly on the top of the cracker dough and rolled in with a rolling pin. I try to avoid additional salt so I don’t do this.

The crackers need to be rolled out on a cookie sheet with no sides. If that type of pan is not available, the back of a jelly roll pan can be used, which is what I do. The outside sections of the crackers may need to be removed before the center sections are ready. I begin to watch the crackers carefully after about 14 minutes.

Center sections of crackers ready to be put back in the oven after the outside sections have been removed.

The crackers in the left two rows of the photo above could have been thinner. I separated the dough in half so in the recipe below, I am suggesting the dough be separated into thirds.

Store the crackers airtight, and I think that they are better after a day or two.

V-8 Veggie Crackers
2 c. white whole wheat flour or half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
2 T. wheat germ
1 pkg. Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix finely ground in a spice grinder
1/2 t. garlic powder (opt.)
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. V-8 Vegetable juice
several drops hot sauce (opt.)
Kosher salt (opt.)

Place dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix together well. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add vegetable oil and juice to the dry ingredients. Mix well until the mixture cleans the sides of the bowl. Use your hands, if necessary. Divide dough into thirds. Lightly grease the back of a 10x15 jelly roll pan. Place a ball of dough in the center of the pan. With a rolling pin, roll dough out to edges of the pan. Trim and patch dough to make edges even. Dough should be less than 1/8-inch thick. Sprinkle lightly with Kosher salt, if using, and roll in with rolling pin. Cut into size crackers desired. You can use a ruler to do this. I just cut them free form. Bake at 350 degrees 20 minutes. Watch carefully after 14 minutes and remove outside sections if they are done before the center sections. The crackers should be very firm when touched with a finger. It there is any “give”, the crackers are not yet done. Transfer to a rack to cool. Store airtight at room temperature. Makes about 100 crackers.

Linking to: Full Plate Thursday
Tastetastic Thursday
Strut Your Stuff
What's Cooking Thursday
It's a Keeper Thursday
Twisted Thursday
Weekend Potluck
Weekend Bloggy Reading

Ingredient Spotlight-Red Velvet Cherry Bars

2012-02-01T13:02:00.000-08:00

I have not yet welcomed my new followers this week and want to do that. So welcome and thanks to all of you who take time out of your busy lives to read this blog. I hope you enjoy today's recipe.

The original recipe was created by Mrs. Emil Jerzak of Porter, Minnesota for the 25th Anniversary Pillsbury Bake-Off in 1974. It won a $25,000 Grand Prize in the Grocery Products Category. Above is a photo of the picture that was on the cover of the cookbook for that year.

It was a simple idea. She combined cake mix, cherry pie filling, eggs, and almond extract to make moist bars that kept well. The bars were glazed with a chocolate glaze made with semi-sweet chocolate chips, sugar, butter, and milk. The bars could be baked in a 10x15-inch jelly rolls pan for a thinner more cookie-like bar or in a 9x13-inch pan for a more cake-like bar. The recipe turned up in "The Cake Mix Doctor" as Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake. Bars or cake, this is very good.

The recipe originally called for Fudge Cake Mix with is no longer available. I have used almost all of the chocolate flavors of cake mix for this. It doesn’t seem to make any difference. The chocolate version of my Homemade Cake Mix can also be used. Since it is February and Valentine’s Day is coming up, I wanted to use Red Velvet Cake Mix to make it more seasonal.

I like to use milk chocolate chips for the frosting/glaze, but they don’t melt as well as the semi-sweet ones do, so sometimes there are tiny bits of unmelted chips in the finished frosting/glaze.

This goes together very quickly; and, if the ingredients are kept on hand, can be made “at the drop of a hat.”

Please forgive this photo. I was pushing to get this done and put the frosting/glaze on the cake while it was still too hot. The frosting/glaze seeped down the sides of my baking pan. So don't do as I did, wait the 15 minutes before topping the bars.

Red Velvet Cherry Bars/Cake
1 pkg. Red Velvet or Chocolate Cake Mix (any flavor)
1 (21 oz.) can cherry pie filling
2 eggs
1 t. almond extract

Frosting/Glaze
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. butter (must be butter)
1/3 c. milk (low-fat is OK)
1 c. semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pie filling, eggs and almond extract. Stir until well mixed. Pour into greased and floured 10x15-inch jelly roll pan or greased and floured 9x13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees 20 to 25 minutes for jelly roll pan or 25 to 30 minutes for baking pan. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Let cool 15 minutes. Meanwhile combine sugar, butter, and milk in a small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add chips and stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Pour over partially cooled bars. Cool and cut into bars. Make 3 to 4 dozen bars depending on the pan used. Covered tightly, the bars will keep at room temperature up to 5 days, in the refrigerator up to 1 week. Uncut, the bars may be tightly wrapped in foil and frozen up to 6 months. Thaw on counter overnight before serving.

Linking to: Ingredient Spotlight
Cast Party Wednesday
These Chicks Cooked
Wow Me Wednesday-Ginger Snap Crafts
Wow Me Wednesday-Polka Dots on Parade
We Did It Wednesday
What Works for Me
Strut Your Stuff
Overflowing with Creatativity
Creative Juices
Sweet Treats Thursday

January Foodie Penpals Reveal Day

2012-01-31T09:00:00.000-08:00

When I took part in the Great Food Bloggers Cookie Swap during the holidays, one of the bloggers who sent cookies to me was Hannah of Hannaviolin. I started reading her blog. At the end of December she posted about being a part of Foodie Penpals and what she had received from her penpal that month. I thought that being a part of that group sounded like fun so I signed up for January.

I was partnered to send a package to Ashley at Simple Food Healthy Life and Annica at Annicanicole was to send a package to me. Today is the day that I get to share all the lovely things she sent to me.

My package was full of many goodies. There were chocolate covered crackers and mint tea.

Of course, I had to try these right away. See the cute little designs on the crackers.

These did not last long at my house.

There were these wonderful nut clusters.

Using extreme willpower, I actually have a few of these left.

There was a wonderful chicken enchilada soup mix. I had never made this kind of soup before.

I am a wimp when it comes to spicy food so this was a bit spicy for me, but I added some extra water; and hubby and I enjoyed this very much.

There was a great no-salt seasoning mix.

Annica said that this is her favorite seasoning. I used it in a meatloaf I made and have been sprinkling it on my veggies.

There were three other items in the box that I have not eaten yet.

I am sure they all will be wonderful. Except for the brownie mix, most of these brands are ones that I have not seen before. This is one of the nice things about taking part in this exchange. Annica lives in Missouri so can purchase items that I cannot where I live.

Because this is called Foodie Penpals, one of the requirements is that something hand written be sent. Annica’s note was in this pretty envelope.

Ashley will be writing about what I sent to her on her blog.

This was so much fun, I have signed up to do this again in February. To find information about joining the group, visit The Lean Green Bean. Sign up by February 4th is required to participate in February.

I am linking to Foodie Penpal Reveal Day.

Slow Cooked Ranch Pork Roast

2012-01-30T05:30:00.000-08:00

This week Safeway has pork shoulder roasts on sale buy one, get one free. Well, this sale makes the meat $1.75 a lb. Now tell me, where can you get pork or beef for $1.75 a lb. right now. Of course, I bought some.

I planned to have one for dinner on Saturday night and wanted a new recipe. I did a search and found a recipe I decided to try at Recipe.com. The challenge was that it was a slow cooker recipe. Hubby and I are not particularly fond of beef or pork cooked in the slow cooker. I do have a recipe or two that I like: but for the most part, slow cooked meat is too overdone for us. I was, therefor, a little concerned about making this recipe. I thought that the recipe sounded good so I forged ahead. It turns out that this one is a Keeper. Hubby said it was very good, and I will make it often.

The directions called for cooking the pork 9 to 10 hours on low or 4 1/2 to 5 hours on high. Because I got a late start, I cooked my roast on high. It weighed almost 4 lbs. and was done in 3 1/2 hours. I didn’t have the rest of dinner ready, so I turned the slow cooker down to low, and it did cook another hour. I should have turned the slow cooker to the warm setting, but I forgot I have that available.

The recipe calls for cream cheese, cream of chicken soup and ranch dressing mix. Commercial products or homemade products can be used. I prefer the homemade substitutes, but I am not a purist, and do keep the commercial products on hand. This time I used them. I used a pork seasoning salt when I browned the meat hoping to give the pork more flavor. This addition made the sauce/gravy a little too salty tasting for me so next time I will leave that out and also use low-sodium soup if I use commercial soup.

The recipe calls for red potatoes to be added and cooked with the pork. I am sure that this makes a nice, almost one-dish meal. I chose to make mashed potatoes instead. I also served green beans with bacon and pickled beets.

There are a number of recipes for homemade ranch dressing mix on the net. Here is one that I use that came from a Gooseberry Patch Cookbook, Gifts for Giving.

Ranch Dip and Dressing Mix
Gooseberry Patch, Gifts for Giving
2 t. celery salt
2 t. garlic powder
3 T. dried minced onion
2 t. pepper
2 t. sugar
2 1/2 t. paprika
2 1/2 t. dried parsley
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container. Makes 1/2 cup mix.

For Dip: Blend 1 T. mix with 1 c. sour cream. Chill in refrigerator at least one hour before serving.

For Dressing: Blend 1 T. mix with 1 c. mayonnaise and 1 c. buttermilk. Chill in refrigerator at least one hour before serving.

Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Roast
from Better Homes and Gardens
1 (2 1/2 to 3 lb.) boneless pork shoulder roast (mine was bone-in and almost 4 lb.)
1 lb. small new red skinned potatoes, halved
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened (I used low fat)
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup (I would use low sodium)
1 envelope dry ranch dressing mix
freshly ground black pepper (opt.)

Trim excess fat from roast. Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Heat skillet, add roast and brown well on all sides. Place potatoes in the bottom of a 3 1/2 to 4 qt. slow cooker. Place roast on top of potatoes. Combine cream cheese, soup, and dressing mix. Spoon mixture on top of the roast. Cover and cook on low 9 to 10 hours or on high 4 1/2 to 5 hours. Remove pork and potatoes to a serving platter. Pour sauce/gravy into a container to spoon over the roast. Garnish roast and potatoes with freshly ground pepper if desired. Makes 6 servings.

Linking to: Hunk of Meat Monday
Mingle Monday
Mangia Monday
Newbie Party
Made by You Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
A Marvelous Mess
Making Monday Marvelous
Homemaker Monday
What Makes You Say Mmmmm?

Perpetual Green Onions and a Dip Recipe

2012-01-28T09:00:00.000-08:00

Back in November, one of my Friday Finds was a tip about keeping green onions in water from Homemade Serenity. She indicated that the onions would last indefinitely. I was anxious to try this out. As I said then, I never seem to have green onions when I need them. We live a long way from town so I don’t just jump in the car and go buy some. Most of the time I would just sub regular onions, but the taste is not quite the same.

Around Christmas, I finally remembered to buy a bunch of onions. I put them in a little jar with water to see what would happen. Well, the onions just keep growing and growing. I have cut some off and used them many times. They grow fast as I will show here:

This photo was taken on Sunday, January 22, 2012. I had just cut some onions off to use in a recipe.

This photo was taken on Friday, January 27, 2012. You can see how much growth there has been with some of the onions.

I do not have a particularly sunny place to leave these and just set them on my kitchen window sill during the day. You can almost see them grow. I pour the water out of the jar and put in fresh every three or four days.

Here is a picture of one of the onions. You can see the new growth growing out between the old growth that was cut off. I have no idea how long this bunch will last; but, at this point, it has been a month. A pretty good return on a .44 investment, I think. Green onions are on sale this week so I am going to purchase one more bunch and add them to my jar.

Of course, now my challenge is that I have lots of green onions so they go in almost anything I can think of. We don’t eat green peppers so I use the onions in recipes that call for green pepper so I at least get the color. If I want some of the white part, I just take a whole onion out of the jar and use it. There is an outside layer that forms on the white that needs to be stripped off as well as the root removed.

One place that I use the onions is in this dip recipe. You can play around with the basic recipe and add cheese, bacon, seasonings, etc. I often use Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream.

Green Onion Dip
from Best Foods Mayonnaise

1 c. mayonnaise, low fat or fat free is OK
1 c. sour cream, low fat or fat free is OK or use Green yogurt
1/2 c. sliced green onions
1/2 c. parsley sprigs
1 t. Dijon mustard
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed

Blend all ingredients together in a blender or food processor until almost smooth. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Makes 2 cups.

Laura over at Real Mom Kitchen recently posted a recipe for Bacon and Green Onion Cheese Ball that I am going to try very soon.

This idea seems to really work. If you like green onions, you might want to give it a try.

Linking to: Strut Your Stuff
Weekend Potluck
Weekend Bloggy Reading
I'm Lovin' It

Why I Am Not a Home Décor Blogger

2012-01-28T05:36:00.000-08:00

I have a number of interests beside cooking, and I love to visit some of the home décor blogs and see what wonderful things those bloggers are up to. They have so many good ideas, and I come away impressed, thinking, “I could do that, too.”

Then I look around and see my special and unique decorating and realize, probably NOT. I am pretty much “stuck” with what I have.

Here is my mantle decoration:

Sunday thinks that she is the only thing that belongs on the mantel and will push off onto the floor anything else that is put there.

Here is my bed decoration:

Cally spends most of every day hanging out on the bed. No, the bed is not made. She usually gets there before I have a chance to make it and likes to be right in the middle.

Here is my houseplant:

This is the only thing I seem to be able to keep alive.

No matter how much I admire the home décor bloggers, the above are a few reasons I will not be joining them anytime soon. I think I will just continue to blog about food, so I will be back later to write about those green onions.

Friday Finds

2012-01-27T01:00:00.000-08:00

I found so much good stuff this week that it was very hard to narrow it all down to just a few items to post. Even then, this is a longer list than usual for me. Here we go:

French Dip Burgers

Blogchef

Although these do look very good, the main reason I included these is that she made her own au jus from Better than Bouillon, water, and some veggies. I do not like to buy the commercial product, but just plain beef broth leaves something to be desired. I am going to give her version a try and see if it is better. Blogchef always has wonderful recipes, so I bet it is.

Blanched Cabbage with Butter and Caraway Seed

Simply Recipes

Cabbage is not a favorite veggie with some, I know, but I like it. Hubby will not eat cooked cabbage, but I think that I will make this just for myself. Be sure to read the comments, there are some other great ideas for cooked cabbage there as well.

Chili Cheese Crackers

Bakeaholic Mama

When our wonderful hostess Sno White posted her recipe for Ranch Crackers, I remembered how much fun making homemade crackers was. I have made a couple of different flavors which I will be posting soon. Although I did not find a lot of crackers recipes when I did a search I did find some. This week I ran across these, and they sound yummy.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Accidentally Wonderful

This soup is made with rather simple ingredients which I think I can get by my hubby who doesn't care for some of the ingredients in most enchilada soups. I probably will, however, use my Do-It-Yourself Cream Soup Mix in place of the Cream of Chicken Soup and the recipe linked below in place of the can of enchilada sauce.

Easy Enchilada Sauce

Little Mommy, Big Appetite

I have a recipe for homemade enchilada sauce which I have used a lot, but I want to try this one. She gives it big raves.

Roasted Broccoli with Balsamic Sesame Glaze

Squiggy Spice

I can't have too many way to fix broccoli. This oriental inspired recipe looks like a good one. I am going to do this one soon.

Butterfinger Cookies

The Farm Girl

Of course, I must include some sweet goodies in this list. Cookies that contain candy are a extra special treat for this Cookie Monster's grandmother. Here is one more using Butterfingers.

Raspberry Cheesecake Cookie Cups

Alli-n-Son

Here is one that uses Raspberry Hugs candy and instant cheesecake pudding mix. Those two items are going on my grocery list for my next shopping trip. I love cookies with a little hidden surprise in them.

As usual, the photos were taken by and are the property of the owners of the respective blogs represented.

It is always so much fun to see what other bloggers have found in their travels around the net this week. I am linking up at Friday Favorite Finds. Pop on over and see what other have found.

Ingredient Spotlight-Cran/Raspberry Jam

2012-01-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

In 1966, we made our one and only trip to Disneyland. Our oldest daughter was three and our second daughter was a baby. We stayed with my aunt and uncle who lived in the LA area and used their home as a base for several days. My aunt took care of the baby for us while we were at Disneyland.

While we were there, my aunt served us cranberry/strawberry jam which was made with cranberries and frozen strawberries. I loved it and the fact that you could make fresh jam in the winter. She gave me her recipe, and I made it often for a number of years when the children were growing up. Now that there is just hubby and me, I don’t make jam as often.

When I saw that jam was the subject of this week’s Ingredient Spotlight, I looked for my old recipe. I could not find it, but I did find a recipe on the Sure-Jell site. Since I had raspberries in my freezer that I had frozen last summer, I decided to use them instead of strawberries. I used my kitchen scale and found that two of my frozen bags weighed 16 oz. I added 1/4 c. to the amount of sugar since my raspberries were not sweetened. Otherwise, I followed the cooking procedure from the Sure-Jell site exactly. I usually put my jam in the freezer so I just poured the jam into clean half-pint jars, screwed the lids on and let the jam cool before putting it in the freezer.

I did not completely thaw either the raspberries or the cranberries. I put the raspberries in the pot and turned on the heat to low, chopped the cranberries and added them to the pot and left it on the heat a few minutes, stirring often. I then added the Sure-Jell and turned the heat to high to make the jam.

I like to use a flat bottomed spatula such as the bamboo ones that Pampered Chef sells to stir the jam. No affiliation, I just happen to like these. They do a great job of keeping the jam mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Cran/Raspberry Jam
adapted from Sure-Jell website

1 bag (12 oz.) fresh raspberries (I used frozen and they worked fine)
1 bag (16 oz.) frozen raspberries (can be strawberries), thawed
1/2 T. butter
1 box Sure-Jell Pectin
4 c. sugar

Chop cranberries in a food processor until fine. Place raspberries, cranberries, butter and Sure-Jell in a large pot. Bring the mixture to a full-rolling boil, over high heat, stirring constantly. (A full-rolling boil is one that doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred.) Add the sugar. Return to a full-rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off any foam with a metal spoon. Ladle immediately into clean jars. Let cool and freeze or follow the directions for sealing at the Sure-Jell web site. Makes 5 to 6 half-pint jars full.

Linking to: Ingredient Spotlight
Full Plate Thursday
Twisted Thursday
What's Cooking Thursday
Strut Your Stuff

Butterscotch Oatmeal Cake

2012-01-24T14:31:00.000-08:00

I just want to say a quick welcome to my new followers. As always, thanks to all who take the time out of their busy lives to read this blog. It is appreciated.

Many years ago I clipped a recipe from a Nestles ad for Butterscotch Bark Cake. It was called that because you used a fork to make the frosting look like bark. I loved that cake, but over the years the recipe disappeared.

Lately I have been thinking about that cake and wanted to make it. I searched the Nestle site, and it is not there. I searched the net and did not find it. I also had done a search for chocolate oatmeal cake and found one at Are You Hungry that called for semisweet chocolate chips. I thought why not use butterscotch chips in place of the chocolate ones and see what happens. Though not quite like I remember, this did make a very good cake.

I have to admit that once I made the cake, I didn’t want to work any more; so I just frosted it with some canned chocolate frosting that I had purchased to make candy with at Christmas time and didn’t get to it.

Butterscotch Oatmeal Cake
adapted from Are You Hungry

1 1/2 c. boiling water
1 c. quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 pkg. butterscotch chips (3/4 c. plus 2 T.)
1/2 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
2 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt

Mix oats and boiling water together in a bowl. Add butterscotch chips, let stand 5 minutes. Stir. Let stand 10 minutes more. Meanwhile in another bowl cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir oat mixture to thoroughly blend in the chips. Add to sugar/egg mixture. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to oat mixture and blend well. Pour into a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Frost with your favorite frosting.

Linking to: Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Totally Tasty Tuesday
Tuesdays at the Table
Sweets for a Saturday

Peanut Brittle Cookies

2012-01-21T13:16:00.000-08:00

Being the extra observant person that I am (NOT, just ask my hubby), I just noticed that Blogger has given us the ability to reply to comments. How cool is that and when did it happen? Whatever, Thanks, Blogger.

Do you ever have a love/hate relationship with something? It seems I do with many things. The recipe I am posting today is the result of the love/hate thing with a cookie recipe and peanut brittle.

Last fall Marsha over at The Better Baker posted a recipe for “Melt in Your Mouth” Pecan Toffee Cookies. I made the cookies and love them. Don’t love the cost of the Heath Toffee Bits though. Next is peanut brittle. Love peanut brittle, my teeth not so much. But, I can buy a 6 oz. box of peanut brittle at Dollar Tree for $1.00. So I thought, “What if I used crushed peanut brittle in Marsha’s recipe instead of toffee bits?”

That seemed to have some possibilities, so I gave it a try with my Homemade Cake Mix. What resulted was a cookie not at all like the original recipe but so good in its own way. The cookies are thin and crisp but sturdy with a flavor amazingly like peanut brittle. They develop little craters and even holes where the peanut brittle melts as they bake and tend to be a little free-form in shape.

The peanut brittle came in a foil pouch so I just crushed it inside the pouch with my meat mallet.

The cookies must be baked on a non-stick foil-lined baking sheet, or spray regular foil with non-stick spray. Let the cookies stand a minute or so after baking to firm up some before removing to a cooling rack.

Give these a try, you won’t be sorry you did.

Peanut Brittle Cookies
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 (18 oz.) box yellow cake mix (or make you own)
2 lg. eggs, at room temperature
1 T. water
1 (6 oz.) box peanut brittle, crushed.

Place butter, cake mix, eggs and water in a mixer bowl and mix until well blended. Stir in crushed peanut brittle. Drop by rounded teaspoonsful onto non-stick, foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cookies stand for 1 minute or so before removing from baking sheet. Transfer to rack to cool. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Linking to: Things that Make Me Say Mmmmm Monday

Homemaker Monday

Making Monday Marvelous

Marvelous Mess Monday

Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Made by You Monday
Wow Me Wednesday
These Chicks Cooked
Whatever Goes Wednesday
Wow Me Wednesday
We Did It Wednesday
Sweets for a Saturday

Friday Finds

2012-01-20T01:00:00.000-08:00

My finds this week are "all over the map" so to speak. I am looking forward to making them all.

Roasted Garlic-Parmesan Cauliflower

Our Best Bites

Hubby doesn't eat cauliflower, but I think maybe I could get it past him with this recipe. I actually have already made this, and I thought it was very good. The roasting seemed to bring out the sweetness in the cauliflower.

Creamy Tomato Soup with Corn, Chicken and Bacon

Picky Palate

Put a few ingredients in a pot. Cook for 15 minutes, and you have what looks and sounds like a delicious soup.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Spread

Spreadable Butter

Frugal and Focused

If you like Nutella, this looks like a great recipe to have on hand if you run out. I posted a recipe for a spreadable butter, but I honestly think that this one is better. I am going to give it a try.

Home-Made Chicken Nuggets

A Little Nosh

Amy says that once she tried this recipe, she threw out all her other chicken nugget recipes. I am picking up some split chicken breasts on sale for $.99 lb. this week so want to try these soon.

No Knead Bread

Chocolate, Chocolate and More Chocolate

I "knead" (OK, I couldn't resist) to make more homemade bread. This looks like a nice, easy recipe. Who could resist spending some time at a blog named Chocolate, Chocolate and More Chocolate.

Cooking Conversion Chart

Remodelaholic

There is a nice conversion chart to print out and keep handy in your kitchen here. This is going on the inside of a cabinet door in my kitchen.

As always, all photos were taken by and are the property of the owners of the blogs represented.

I am looking forward to checking out what other bloggers have found in their travels around the net this week.

Linking to: Friday Favorite Finds

January Improv Challenge-Lemon Sour Cream Cookies

2012-01-19T09:23:00.000-08:00

Being the Cookie Monster’s grandmother, when I learned that the ingredients for the January Improv Challenge were lemon and sour cream, I knew that I wanted to make a cookie recipe. The only cookie recipe that I found when I did a search was posted by Sarah Dahl at a recipe sharing site called We Gotta Eat. She attributed the recipe to “Cook's Country.”

These are a soft, cake-like cookie with a very mild lemon flavor. I wanted the lemon flavor to be more pronounced so I glazed the cookies with a lemon glaze. The next time I make these, I may add some lemon extract to the dough. Not a “Cook's Country” approved option, I am sure. This is a drop cookie, but the dough does need to be chilled for a hour.

I used my cookie scoop to drop the dough onto the baking sheets. My cookies took only 10 minutes to bake and made cookies about 2 inches in diameter. I got about 5 dozen cookies.

I made a glaze of melted butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice and milk. I made this a little on the thick side and brushed the glaze on with a silicone brush which left little ridges that I thought provided a little decorative effect.

Lemon Sour Cream Cookies
Cooks Country via Sarah Dahl

3 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 c. sour cream
1 t. grated lemon rind

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir well and set aside. With an electric mixer set on medium speed, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and beat in sour cream and lemon rind. Add flour mixture and mix until well combined. Refrigerate dough until slightly firm, about 1 hour. Drop by rounded tablespoonsful about two inches apart onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees 15 minutes or until just beginning to brown around the edges.

Lemon Glaze
3 T. melted butter
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted
2 T. milk

Combine melted butter and lemon juice. Stir in powdered sugar. Add milk and stir well. Add additional milk a teaspoon at a time until mixture is of desired consistency. Brush onto cooled cookies. Let stand until set.

Many thanks to Kristen from Frugal Antics of a Harried Housewife for hosting this challenge and doing such a great job each month. February's ingredients are carrots and ginger. If you would like to join in the fun, just hop on over to Kristen's blog and click on the Improv tab.

Pick-Your-Flavor Hot Milk Drink

2012-01-17T14:10:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my new followers and thanks to all of you who take the time out of your busy lives to stop and read my blog. It is appreciated, and I hope what you find here is useful to you. Have a great week.

I don’t drink coffee. It is just something that I never developed a taste for. Sometimes I want something other than cocoa or hot tea. I have seen all the flavored syrups designed for use in coffee at the grocery store. I thought surely there must be a use for those, but not necessarily in cocoa or tea.

Over the holidays, two things came together. Marsha over at The Better Baker posted a recipe for Hot Cinnamon Milk Mix which she found at Craftaholics Anonymous. This recipe used dry milk, flavored non-dairy creamer, sugar, and cinnamon. I made the recipe, and it was very good. The original recipe called for French Vanilla Flavored Creamer. I also made up a couple of batches using Irish Cream and Pumpkin Spice Creamers. I liked them too.

Then one of my local grocery stores had Torani syrups on sale for the whole month of December. I had $1.00 off coupons on these. That meant that I could purchase the syrups for $3.99 a bottle versus the regular price of $6.99. I had been thinking that I could take the Hot Cinnamon Milk recipe and use plain non-dairy creamer instead of the flavored creamer and use the syrups for the flavoring. That is what I did, and I think that it worked really well.

I have said that I get bored with food easily. This way I can make up a batch of the base mix and add whatever flavoring I want that day. I purchased three flavors: Butter Rum, Almond Roca, and Hazelnut. There are other flavors I want to try such as Coconut and Almond. Cinnamon or other spices could be added to the drink, too.

I reduced the amount of sugar from the original recipe as I found the drink a bit too sweet for me. A favorite sugar substitute could be used. I also use 1/4 c. instead of 1/3 cup of the mix.

Pick Your Flavor Hot Milk Drink
2 c. instant dry milk

To use: Heat 1/2 c. milk and 1/2 c. water until hot. Stir in 1/4 to 1/3 c. of the above mix and 1 T. or more any flavor Torani syrup or other desired coffee flavoring syrup. Makes 1 (8 oz.) serving.

It is only January, but looking ahead, I think that a batch of the mix along with two or three flavors of the syrup put in recycled spice or similar bottles would make a nice Christmas gift.

Linking to: Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Take a Look Tuesday
Tasty Tuesday
Totally Tasty Tuesday
Tuesday Time Out
Tip Me Tuesday
Show Me What Ya Got
Success U Wednesday

Friday Finds

2012-01-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

I started out this week looking for new ideas for cooking with potatoes. I did find several, but also found other great ideas worth sharing. The first two recipes will help me use up some crescent rolls that I have on had, and both are wonderful lunch ideas that I will try soon.

Bacon Cheddar Pinwheels

Making Memories with Your Kids

Pepperoni Pinwheels
Will Cook for Smiles

I really like pasta as a side dish and can never have too many recipe ideas. Here are two that look delicious.

Peanut Sesame Noodles
Scattered Thoughts of a Stay at Home Mom

Garlic Butter Pasta
Hot Eats and Cool Reads

Here are three of the new ideas that I will be using for potatoes.

Roasted Parmesan Potatoes
In Him We Live and Move and Have Our Being

Garlic and Rosemary Potatoes
Elsa's Cooking Diary

Roasted Smashed Potatoes
Little Mommy, Big Appetite

I have mentioned before that we really like Brussels sprouts. Here are two new ideas I want to try with them.

Oregano Brussels Sprouts

101 Cookbooks

Brussels Sprouts Soup

The Kitchen is My Playground

And, of course, I also found this new-to-me idea for Nutella. I will definitely be putting this in the file for what to make for this year's Christmas goodies.

Nutella Truffles

Talking Dollars and Cents

As always the photos here are the property of the owners of the respective blogs represented.

I will be linking up to Friday Favorite Finds and am looking forward to seeing what other bloggers have found this week.

Warming Split Pea Soup

2012-01-12T10:38:00.002-08:00

This time of year, nothing is better than a bowl of hot, comforting soup. This is one of my hubby’s favorites. The whole batch of soup can be made for under $2.00 so it is great for the budget. I make this at least once a month. The soup is hearty and filling even though it has no meat in it. The original recipe was clipped from Woman’s Day many years ago, and I have given it to many people.

If I am feeling particularly frugal, I use 7 cups water and 1 T. instant chicken bouillon or soup base instead of the can of chicken broth. I leave out the salt, and this works out fine. Once all the ingredients are in the pot, the soup takes very little effort. It just needs to be stirred once in a while.

For a smooth soup, it can be run through a blender or food processor. We like our soup a bit chunky so I don’t bother with that. I like to serve this with little cheese crackers.

I will add some cubed ham if I have it on hand or sometimes cooked crumbled bacon for garnish. The soup is great without this, however.

Leftovers will stiffen up some while in the fridge, so a little water may need to be added when reheating the soup.

Split Pea Soup from Woman's Day
1 lb. split peas, green or yellow (2 1/4 c.)
5 c. water
1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth or 2 c. water and 1 T. instant chicken bouillon or soup base
1 lg. onion, chopped
2 med. carrots, chopped
2 lg. cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t. thyme leaves, crushed
1/2 t. pepper (freshly ground preferred)
3/4 t. salt (I omit if using the instant bouillon)

Pour peas into pie tin or other flat surface to check that there are no rocks or other foreign objects in with the peas. Put the peas in a 4-qt. pot. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 90 minutes or until peas are soft. Stir occasionally. Makes 6 servings.

Update 2/29/12: Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset

Linking to: SoupaPalooza
It's a Keeper Thursday
Full Plate Thursday
Twisted Thursday
What's Cooking Thursday
Thriving on Thursday
This Week's Cravings
Feature Friday Link Party

Cooking with the Journal-Easy Homemade Dip Mixes

2012-01-10T11:07:00.000-08:00

This time of year I am usually trying to recuperate from all the food splurges of the holidays. I am sure many of us are doing that. This means that I am trying to eat more vegetables, so I eat more celery sticks, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, snow peas, etc. I try to keep these around to snack on to stave off the hunger pangs.
The problem is, by themselves, I find vegetables are kind of boring. Using a dip makes vegetables a little more interesting. Unfortunately, most commercial dips are full of chemicals and fat; not a good combination if you are trying to lose a little weight.

Here are a few homemade dip mixes that can be mixed with low-fat or fat-free sour cream, Greek yogurt, low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese( blended in a blender) or a combination of these. I also like the combination of half of any of the above and half low-fat mayo. These all use common pantry shelf or refrigerator ingredients and go together quickly. Since I am easily bored when it come to food, I usually halve the ingredients and mix with a half cup of the sour cream or whatever so that I can change the dip up every day or so.

The recipes are from Farm Journal’s “The Thrifty Cook”, 1974.

Onion/Cheese Dip Mix
1 T. instant minced onion
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 t. instant beef broth mix
1/4 t. garlic powder

Combine all ingredients. Mix with 1 c. sour cream, blending well. Chill at least 30 minutes, but several hours is better. Makes 1 c.

Curry Dip Mix
1 T. instant minced onion
2 t. curry powder
1/4 t. instant minced garlic
1/4 t. salt

Combine all ingredients. Mix with 1 c. sour cream, blending well. Chill at least 30 minutes, but several hours is better. Makes 1 c.

Bacon Dip Mix
2 T. real bacon bits
1 T. instant minced onion
1 t. instant beef broth mix
1/4 t. instant minced garlic

Combine all ingredients. Mix with 1 c. sour cream, blending well. Chill at least 30 minutes, but several hours is better. Makes 1 c.

Taco Dip Mix
1 T. instant minced onion
1 1/2 t. instant beef broth mix
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. instant minced garlic

Combine all ingredients. Mix with 1 c. sour cream and 2 t. ketchup, blending well. Chill at least 30 minutes, but several hours is better. Makes 1 c.

If you are doing as I am, try these to help the veggies go down a little easier.

Linking to: Tuesdays at the Table
Tasty Tuesday
Totally Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
This Weeks Cravings

Greek Roast Beef

2012-01-09T00:21:00.000-08:00

Good Monday morning. Thanks for taking time out of your busy lives to stop and read this blog. I hope that what you find here is useful to you.

I have mentioned that I only cook evening meals three time a week due to my work schedule, and often cook roasts, casseroles, and other meals that will leave leftovers for my hubby to eat the four nights I am gone.

Saturday I decided to try a Greek inspired roast using a cooking method that was on a recipe card I picked up at a local grocery store. The recipe was for a sirloin tip roast. I didn’t look carefully enough at what the roast was that I took from the freezer. It turned out that it was a rump roast so I used that. It turned out fine so either a sirloin tip or a rump roast could be used.

A commercial Greek seasoning can be used or you can make your own. One recipe that I have used is here at Food for My Family. I like that one because it doesn't call for dried mint which I don't always have on hand. The recipe called for cooking the roast in beef broth and red wine. This combination plus the Greek seasoning made a very flavorful gravy. I also cooked some onions and carrots with the roast.

I like to stud my beef roasts generously with garlic. To do this I make half inch or so slits with a point of a sharp knife and insert slices of garlic into the slits. I usually make these about 1 inch apart all over the roast. This takes two to three cloves of garlic. This step is optional, but if you like garlic, it adds great flavor to the beef.

I am personally not very fond of beef roast cooked in a slow cooker, but I am sure one could be used for this recipe if desired.

An explanation about the photo. Our weather has been very overcast, and we often lose daylight as early as three o'clock. Since we don't eat until around seven, I had to settle for taking a picture of the roast the next day after it was cold.

Greek Roast Beef
1 3-4 lb. sirloin tip or rump roast
2 to 3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
olive oil
2 to 3 teaspoons Greek seasoning
small amount of vegetable oil
1 c. beef broth
1/4 c. red wine
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. baby carrots, halved lengthwise

Trim roast of any excess fat. If desired stud roast with slices of garlic. Brush olive oil on all surfaces of the meat. Rub roast with Greek seasonings. Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a oven-proof Dutch oven. Brown meat on all sides. Drain off any excess oil. Add beef broth and red wine. Cover and roast at 300 degrees for 1 1/4 hour. Add onion and carrots and roast another 45 minutes. I cooked my roast to medium 160 degrees. Remove roast from cooking liquid. Cover with foil and keep warm. Use a slotted spoon to remove carrots and onions to a oven-proof serving dish. Cover and return to turned-off oven to keep warm. Remove fat from cooking liquid and measure the amount (I had 3 cups). Mix about 2 T. flour for each cup of cooking liquid with a small amount of water. Stir until flour/water mixture is smooth. Slowly add to the cooking liquid while stirring to mix well. Continue to stir and bring to a boil. Stir and boil for a few minutes until gravy is of desired thickness.

Linking to: Ingredient Spotlight
These Chicks Cooked
Wow Me Wednesday-Polka Dots on Parade
Whatever Goes Wednesday
Wow Me Wednesday-Ginger Snap Crafts
Hunk of Meat Monday

Almond Toffee Butterscotch Brownies

2012-01-08T11:33:00.000-08:00

I wanted to call these Almond Roca Brownies, but that name is owned by Brown & Haley who make a candy by that name. During the holidays one of my local grocery stores had Torani Syrups on sale, and I had some coupons so I purchased several flavors: Hazelnut, Butter Rum., Almond Roca, and Raspberry. I don’t drink coffee, but wanted to try the syrups in some recipe ideas I had.

The first thing I tried are these brownies using the Almond Roca Syrup and Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits. This makes a very sugary, soft bar that keeps well tightly covered.

I used toasted slivered almonds in these. I like to break the almonds up further so there are more almond pieces per brownie. This is extra work so is not necessary if you don’t want to bother. I only used half a package of the toffee bits as these are very rich.

I based my recipe on an old recipe from Betty Crocker. Melted butter, margarine, shortening or vegetable oil can be used in the recipe. I generally prefer to use the butter. Because the butter is melted, this recipe goes together very quickly.

If you don't have the syrup, you can omit it and use 1 t. vanilla or almond extract instead. The flavor will just be a little different.

Almond Toffee Butterscotch Brownies

1/2 c. melted butter, margarine, shortening or vegetable oil

2 c. light brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

2 T. Torani Almond Roca Syrup

1 1/2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

12 c. slivered toasted almonds

1/2 package Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits (about 1/2 c. plus 3 T.)

Melt butter, margarine or shortening and let cool slightly. This is not necessary if you are using vegetable oil. Combine fat and brown sugar until well blended. Stir in eggs and mix well. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to sugar mixture and stir until well blended. Add the almonds and toffee bits. Turn batter into a well-greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. The bars may not seem to be done, but they are. Do not overbake. Cool slightly and cut into bars 2 1/2x1-inch bars. Makes about 36 bars. Store tightly covered.

Linking to: A Marvelous Mess Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Must Try Monday
Making Monday Marvelous
What Makes You Say Mmmmm Monday
Homemaker Monday
Newbie Party
Sweet Treats Thursday
Sweet Temptations

Crazy Cooking Challenge-Chicken Noodle Soup

2012-01-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

This month's Crazy Cooking Challenge is for Chicken Noodle Soup. I found the recipe I based my chicken noodle soup on over at Jill’s Recipes. The recipe interested me because it was more of a creamy soup than most chicken noodle soups. It also used frozen noodles which I had never used. The noodles were on sale at Safeway so I thought I would give them a try.

I will have to admit that I did change the recipe quite a bit. First instead of the cream of chicken soup it called for, I used the ingredients in my homemade cream soup mix. I also added celery. red pepper, regular onions, and chopped the carrots instead of grating them.

The original recipe called for 3 quarts of water. I started the day before I planned to make the soup and cooked 4 chicken thighs that I had purchased on sale for .99 lb. I put the thighs in 2 qts. of water with onion, carrot, celery, red pepper, bay leaf, garlic, and salt and pepper. I brought this to a boil and cooked them about 30 minutes. I removed the chicken thighs, poured the liquid through a strainer, and discarded the vegetables. The chicken and liquid were then refrigerated overnight. The next day, I removed the skin and cut the thigh meat from the bones, chopped it up and set it aside. There was about 2 1/2 c. chicken from the four thighs. I removed the fat from the liquid and put the broth in a big pot. I added the remaining quart of water, the homemade soup mix, the veggies, and seasonings. This was brought to a boil stirring very often. I lowered the heat and simmered the mixture for 20 minutes. I brought the mixture back to a boil and added the noodles per the package directions and cooked 10 minutes, added the chicken and cooked another 10 minutes until the noodles were tender.

The results were a wonderful, creamy large amount of soup which hubby and I ate for lunch for several days.

If you want to use canned cream-of-chicken soup like the original recipe did, use one large can or three regular-sized cans and omit the dry milk, cornstarch and 3 34 c. water. Next time I make this I will add a cup or so of frozen peas when I add the chicken.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Inspired by Jill’s Recipes

2 qts. chicken broth from cooking chicken (purchased broth could be used)
1 qt. water
1/4 c. chicken soup base (I use Better than Bouillon Organic)
3/4 c. nonfat dry milk
4 1/2 T. cornstarch
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried thyme
3 3/4 c. water
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped carrot
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped red pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
generous grinding of freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 to 3 cup chopped cooked chicken
1 (12 oz.) pkg. Reames Frozen Noodles

In a large pot combine chicken broth, water, and chicken soup base. Mix well. In a large bowl combine dry milk, cornstarch, basil and thyme. Mix well. Stir in 3 3/4 c. water mixing well. Add to water and broth in pot, stirring until well combined. Add onion, carrot, celery, red pepper and garlic. Heat mixture to boiling, stirring often to prevent sticking. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Bring soup back to a boil and stir in noodles. Reduce heat and let noodles boil gently 10 minutes. Add chicken and generous grinding of black pepper. Continue to boil 10 more minutes or until noodles are tender. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more soup base or bouillon if necessary. Makes at least 8 generous servings.

February's challenge is Chocolate Cake. If you would like to join in the fun, you can get more details by heading over to Mom's Crazy Cooking and checking it out. Tina is a great hostess.

Friday Finds

2012-01-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

Here I am in a new year of Friday Finds. Since beef and pork prices seem to just keep going up and up, I was going to do a list of chicken recipes this week, but then I ran across these.

Warm n' Crispy Pizza Bites

The Peach Kitchen

I see lots of possibilities with this idea. I love wontons with cream cheese in them but don't like the work and the deep fat frying. Besides pizza flavor, a couple of ideas I have running around in my head are chicken Alfredo and Taco bites. I will be playing around with these.

Ranch Oven Fried Chicken

Beyer Beware

This recipe uses Rice Krispies, ranch dressing, Parmesan cheese, and mayonnaise. Looks easy and good. Leah hosts "Hunk of Meat Monday" where you can find lots of great main dish recipes. Stop by and take a look.

10 Ways to Cook Chicken on the Fly

East at Home

Got the chicken? No time to find a recipe? Tiffany offers up 10 "no-recipe" ideas to help you out.

Easy Turkey Pot Pie

The Better Baker

This is a recipe that has been around awhile, but it is very easy, quick, and good. Obviously cooked chicken can be used instead of turkey. I keep cooked chicken in broth in my freezer, and this is a great use for it.

Oven Baked Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Real Mom Kitchen

This recipes has a great simple homemade Teriyaki sauce which is easily doubled. I would do that because we like lots of sauce to spoon over the rice or noodles that might be served with this. I buy chicken thighs a lot because I can still get them on sale for .99 a lb. so they are one of the most inexpensive things out there, and we like them although we like chicken breasts, also. Laura has a number of recipes on her blog for chicken thighs.

$15 Lighting Set Up

Taylor Takes a Taste

I don't seem to be able to bring over a photo, but this is a very interesting post on building an indoor lighting set up for only $15. This young man's blog is a wealth of information on taking food photos, and he is very generous with his knowledge.

As always the photos here were taken by and are the property of the owners of the respective blogs represented.

I am looking forward to seeing what others have found in their internet travels this week.

Linking to: Friday Favorite Finds

Ingredient Spotlight-Southwest Bacon and Egg Cups

2012-01-04T01:00:00.000-08:00

Since I didn't post on Monday, I would like to take a moment to welcome my new followers and to thank everyone who reads this blog. I appreciate that you take the time out of your busy lives to do so. I hope that you find the information you find here useful.

Bacon, Oh how I love bacon. If I can’t have a sweet, than bacon is the next best thing. Now the best of both worlds would be Chocolate Covered Bacon. Well someone has done that, and I will be trying that one day.

For now I am offering a recipe for something a little more conventional. While leafing through the latest issue of Cooking Light, I ran across a recipe called Mini Bacon and Egg Tarts. It looked interesting so I decided to make my own take on it.

The recipe made eight tarts, and I wanted to make 12 since that is how many places I have in my muffin pan. I also wanted to use 12-grain bread instead of the whole wheat white bread that was suggested. Since my slices of bread were large, I cut them in half. Because of this, some of the egg spilled out over the edges of the cups. Next time I will cut the bread slices so they are square. The crusts are cut off the bread anyway so a little extra bread cut off is OK. That just makes more bread to make bread crumbs from.

I wanted to give the recipe a Southwestern spin so added minced red pepper, chili powder, and cumin. Jalapeno pepper could be added for a little more heat if one wished. Next time I make these I want to do an Italian version with some browned Italian sausage (maybe 1/4 lb.), oregano, fennel and mozzarella cheese.

Since it’s January, and many of use are thinking both about budget and diet, this recipe fits in well. It is relative low fat and inexpensive. These warm up nicely heated in a microwave for 30 seconds, so are nice to make up and keep on hand. The bread cups can be made ahead, and the egg mixture mixed up and stored in the fridge to save time putting these together in the morning.

Southwest Bacon and Egg Cups

Loosely adapted from Mini Bacon and Egg Tarts, pg. 169, Cooking Light, Jan./Feb. 2012

12 slices 12-grain bread, crusts removed and cut so they are square (any bread of choice may be used)
1/4 c. melted butter
4 slices bacon
1/3 c. finely chopped onion or green onion
1/3 c. finely chopped red pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
5 eggs, well beaten
1/4 c. 1% milk (skim, 2%, or whole milk can be used)
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c. (2 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Flatten bread squares with rolling pin or palm of hand. Lightly brush both sides of bread with melted butter. Press each bread slice into cup of a greased muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees 5 min. Cool slightly if filling right way. Reduce oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile cook and crumble bacon. Discard grease from skillet bacon was cooked in and wipe out with a paper towel. Add onion, red pepper and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes. Cool slightly. Combine eggs, milk, and seasonings. Mix well. Add bacon and onion, red pepper and garlic mixture. Spoon egg mixture evenly into toast cups. (I use a gravy ladle.). Sprinkle each cup with about 2 teaspoons cheese. Bake about 15 minutes or until eggs are set. Cool slightly. Remove from muffin cups, using a knife to loosen if necessary. Makes 12

Linking to: Ingredient Spotlight

These Chicks Cooked

Cast Party Wednesday
Wow Me Wednesday-Ginger Snap Crafts
Wow Me Wednesday-Polka Dots on Parade
Whatever Goes Wednesday

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

2012-01-01T01:42:00.000-08:00

A very Happy 2012 to all. I hope everyone has a great year, and that all your wishes and dreams come true.

Since I am the Cookie Monster's grandmother, I am sure it comes as no surprise that the first recipe I am posting for 2012 is a cookie. Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars were one of my kids favorite cookies when they were growing up. I had not made these in a very long time because the cookbook they were in had been misplaced. I probably looked for it off and on for a couple of years. (You have to know how big my cookbook collection is to understand why this would be so.)

Well, recently when looking for something else, I found the cookbook. The first thing I did was make this recipe. When my daughter came by and saw what I had baked, she couldn't believe it. She was so excited you would have thought that she was 6 years old and not 47. Needless to say, she took about a dozen bars home with her.

Now I figure if I post the recipe here, it will stay on the internet somewhere; and I can find it if I lose it again.

This recipe uses the biscuit method instead of the usual cookie method to make the dough. I like to use chunky peanut butter in these and frost them either with Peanut Butter Frosting, Fudge Frosting, and even (ahem!) canned chocolate frosting.

The recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens Homemade Cookies Cookbook, 1975.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
1 1/3 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. peanut butter
3 T. shortening
2 eggs, beaten
2 T. milk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. quick-cooking rolled oats

Stir together flour, sugar, soda and salt. Cut in peanut butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine egg, milk and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and blend well. Stir in the oats and combine well. Spread into lightly greased or foil-lined 9x13-inch baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees 12 to 15 minutes. Place pan on rack to cool. When cool, spread with desired frosting. Cut into bars. Makes 48.

Peanut Butter Frosting
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted
2 T. butter or margarine, softened
2 T. peanut butter
1 to 2 T milk

Combine powdered sugar, butter or margarine and peanut butter. Blend in enough milk to make frosting of desired spreading consistency.

Linking to: Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Must Try Monday

Countdown to 2012-Best Desserts

2011-12-31T06:27:00.000-08:00

Here we are on the last day of 2011, and the subject for Countdown to 2012 is Desserts. Desserts, desserts, how I love thee, or sweets of any kind for that matter. I participated in 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies and Sweets, Crazy Cooking Challenge-Fudge, and The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2011, all of which meant posting a recipe for sweets. Even though I have thought about this all week, it has been very difficult to pick the top few. This is what I finally came up with:

Holiday Shortbread. These were the cookies that I made and sent to three other bloggers for The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2011. This may be my number one recipe as it was the featured link on at least two other blogs. I am not a very good photographer and don't have much of an area to take photos in, but I think that the photo is also one of the best ones I took this year.

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk. I know that this is not a dessert recipe, but it is such a great recipe to have in your arsenal. It can save a considerable amount of money, and you can package up the milk in those 1/2 and 2/3 cup amounts that recipes sometimes call for without trying to figure out what you are going to do with the rest of the can. Marsha over at The Better Baker has been making the recipe with half sugar and half Splenda with great success. I made Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk for both the recipes listed below.

Easy No-Machine Ice Cream. Take a can of sweetened condensed milk, 2 c. of whipped cream and whatever else you want to add and a little waiting; and you can have honest-to-goodness homemade ice cream without an ice cream maker. I about went wild with this recipe this summer, thinking up a new flavor combination just about every day.

Frozen Peaches and Cream Crisp-GF. This dessert is based on the Easy No-Machine Ice Cream mentioned above. I wanted a fancied-up version of the ice cream for a party. The crust can be gluten-free if made with gluten-free oats. Other fruits can be used. I plan to do a raspberry version soon. This was the family's most favorite dessert of the summer.

No-Fail Fudge. This is my go-to fudge recipe from Farm Journal. Many, many flavors of fudge can be made from this one basic recipe just by changing the flavor of the chips and extracts. The varieties in the photo are just a few examples.

Coconut Pecan Cake Balls. This is the latest recipe that I have played around with. Although I had a little trouble with the dipping and the balls weren't all pretty; these were a big hit with the people at work. I want to play with this one further.

Because of their versatility, I am going to give Honorable Mention to several mix recipes that I posted in 2011: Homemade Cake Mix. I most recently used this to make "Melt in Your Mouth" Pecan Toffee Cookies from The Better Baker, and I could not tell the difference between them and the ones I made using a purchased mix. 1001 Cookie Mix. Although the recipe I posted was from Domino Sugar, C&H Sugar has revived this recipe and is currently prompting it. They are inviting people to post recipes developed with the mix on their facebook page so there will actually be 1001 recipes. Homemade Brownie Mix Besides the variations I posted with the mix recipe, I posted additional uses for the mix here and here.

For a recap of my picks for the week:
Monday: Best Breakfasts
Tuesday: Best Breads
Wednesday: Best Soups
Thursday: Best Main Dishes
Friday: Best Side Dish/Vegetables (because I had no crockpot recipes posted)

Sno White over at Finding Joy in My Kitchen has been a most wonderful hostess for this party. Head on over there to see what other bloggers have chosen as their best dessert recipes for 2011. You still have time to create a post a link up yourself if you like.

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY 2012! MAY ALL YOUR WISHES COME TRUE!

Best of 2011-Side Dishes/Vegetables

2011-12-30T10:06:00.000-08:00

Today the theme for Countdown to 2012 is Crockpot Dishes. Alas, I did not post any recipes using a crockpot on my blog this year. I know that there will be many great crockpot recipe links posted over at Finding Joy in My Kitchen today so head on over for some great stuff.

Since I have no crockpot recipes, I decided that today I would do a list of what I think are the best sidedish/vegetable recipes that I posted this year.

Fried Rice-Japanese Style. This is the side dish that I usually serve with the Simmered Chinese Chicken or anything Oriental. This can be made into a main dish by adding diced cooked chicken, meat or ham to it.

Green Beans and Corn with Bacon, Onion and Garlic. My hubby doesn't care for green beans much and will only eat the canned ones. I am always trying new ways to fix them. This was one of my successes this year.

Serbian Cabbage. This dish didn't photograph very well, but it is a great one to know about. You can serve this to people who says they don't like cabbage; and they will eat it. I often don't say what it is until people have had a chance to taste it. It hardly tastes like cabbage at all. This is a baked dish, and can go in the oven with meat or poultry.

Not That Green Bean Casserole. This is the casserole to make if you like green bean casserole but you don't want to use commercial cream soup. This one is made with sour cream. It is easy and very good.

Loaded Mashed Potatoes. This recipes was part of the November Crazy Cooking Challenge. These were different from my usual mashed potatoes and were very good. There are links to 79 other mashed potato recipes with lots of good ideas in this post.

Well, these are my top 5 side dish/vegetable recipes for 2011. Tomorrow I will be back with the Countdown to 2012 and the best desserts of 2011. I posted many sweets so they will be hard to narrow down.

Countdown to 2012-Best Main Dish Recipes

2011-12-29T11:33:00.000-08:00

The Countdown to 2012 continues, and today we are doing Main Dishes. Because of my work schedule, I only cook a dinner meal three times a week. I usually fix roasts, casseroles or meat loaf so that hubby will have leftovers to eat the other four nights. The recipes I did get posted on the blog are favorite recipes that I make over and over. Here are some of those.

Simmered Chinese Chicken. This is one of my top favorite recipes. Whole chickens are still something that can be purchased at a reasonable price so this is inexpensive. It is also easy and quick. The cooking takes less than an hour, and you get this wonderfully moist, slightly teriyaki-flavored meat with a flavorful sauce to serve over rice or noodles.

Chinese Filled Buns. Although these do take a little time and effort, they are just great to have in the freezer to toss in the oven and heat. There is both a pork and beef filling in the post and chicken breasts or thighs can be substituted in either of them.

Spicy Southwest Pork Fingers. These are very good and a nice departure from chicken fingers. I see that I wrote that I would be doing more recipes with strips of pork and haven't done that. Another thing to add to the list for 2012.

Salisbury Steak with "Eat Your Veggies" Gravy This recipe is quick, and makes ground beef a little more "upscale." This is almost nice enough for company.

Chicken Seasoning Mix /Clean the Pantry Chicken. This post has a great seasoning mix to make up and keep on hand. This is a nice use for cereal that is left in the bottom of the boxes. I have used crushed Chex, Kix, Cheerios, and corn flakes for this as well as the Rice Krispies. I just put the cereal in a zip top bag until there is enough to make the recipe.

Surprise Meat Loaf. One last recipe. This one stretches a pound and a half of ground beef to serve 8 to 10. Because of the stuffing, this is a little more work than regular meat loaf; but it is well worth it.

Other bloggers have linked up their lists of main dish recipes over at Finding Joy in My Kitchen. Hop on over and check them out.

It is not too late to get in on the fun. Just make a post of your favorite main dishes and link it up.

Friday is Crockpot Cooking (I am afraid that I don't have a thing to post here)
Saturday is Desserts (I will be back then)

Countdown to 2012-Best Soup/Stew Recipes

2011-12-28T11:32:00.000-08:00

I make soup a lot, but it turns out that I did not post that many soup recipes this year. Another situation I will have to remedy in 2012.

I am going to list this Cream Soup Mix first because it is so useful to have on hand. It is gluten free, and you can use it to make just about any soup that you want that might use a commercial cream soup mix. This is one of my first posts, and for whatever reason the photo no longer shows on the post.

Confetti Potato and Ham Soup. As I said in my original post, this potato soup is one of my two favorite potato soups. I think that the use of some of the potato-cooking water in the soup is what gives this such full potato flavor. I will be posting the other potato soup soon.

Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder. This was a soup that I was not sure I would like when I made it, but I ended up loving it. It can be made quickly from freezer and pantry shelf items by anyone who can "dump and pour." It is very easy to throw together.

Curried Cream of Green Bean Soup with Bacon. This is the soup I make when I want soup just for myself. I really like this using carrots also. It is a great light summer soup.

Well, there is my list of best soup posts for 2011. For the recipes that other bloggers have picked, just head on over to Finding Joy in My Kitchen. It is not too late to make your own list and link up if you would like.

Tomorrow will be Main Dishes
Friday will be Crockpot Dishes
Saturday will be Desserts

Countdown to 2012-Best Bread Recipes

2011-12-27T11:45:00.000-08:00

This is day 2 of Countdown to 2012, Best Recipes of 2011; and we are to post our best bread recipes. I did not post any actual yeast bread recipes this year. That is something I will have to remember to do in 2012. I did post a few quick breads, however, and these are what I think are my top three.

A-Z Quick Bread. I am putting this first because this is such a versatile recipe. You can make almost any flavor of quick bread you want with this one.

Key West Coconut Bread. My son-in-law loves coconut, and I have made this bread for him every Chrisrmas since I found the recipe. If you like coconut, you will love this. When I posted the recipe I had not yet made the bread so did not have this picture. I will be adding this to the post today.

Cheese and Onion Nut Bread. This was a new-to-me recipe and made a great bread to serve with soups or casserole or actually all by itself. Again, a versatile bread as the cheese and nuts can be changed at will.

There are my three choices for bread recipe posts for 2011. To see all the other bloggers choices, visit Finding Joy in My Kitchen. It is not too late to create a post and link up your favorites also.

Tomorrow will be soups and stews.

Thursday will be main dishes

Friday will be crockpot dishes

Saturday will be desserts

Countdown to 2012-Best Breakfast Recipes

2011-12-26T11:49:00.000-08:00

Good Monday to all. I hope that everyone had a wonderful day full of food, family, friends and fun yesterday. May the joy of Christmas and the spirit of the Season continue to be with you in the year ahead.

Even though I have not been blogging all that long, I though it would be fund to join Finding Joy in My Kitchen and other bloggers in highlighting what I think are my best recipe posts for 2011. There will be a different category each day:

Today, December 26- Best Breakfast Recipes
Tuesday, December 27-Best Bread Recipes
Wednesday, December 28-Best Soup & Stew Recipes
Thursday, December 29-Best Main Dish Recipes (Meat, No Meat, All-in)\
Friday, December 30-Best Crockpot Recipes
Saturday, December 31-Best Dessert Recipes

I have not posted recipes in all the categories; but if I have, I will do a recap of the ones I think are best. So, first up is breakfast recipes.

The top breakfast recipe would have to be Breakfast Bread Pudding Cups. I think that this post received the most comments of any recipe that I posted this year, so it is certainly worth a highlight here. I am not surprised. These have everything going for them. The recipe uses ingredients that one usually has on hand, can be made ahead, can be sweet or savory and is delicious either way.

The second recipe is Oatmeal Pancakes with Cinnamon Cream Syrup. These are my favorite pancakes. They are hearty and stay with you for a long time. The syrup is a nice change from the usual maple.

The third recipe is the recipe for homemade Instant Oatmeal. This versatile recipe has many variations; and, if you have kids that like instant oatmeal, can save a ton of money. I keep it made up and handy for days I need a very quick breakfast.

That is my list of breakfast recipe posts for 2011. Stop over at Finding Joy in My Kitchen to find the links to what other blogger's chose for their best breakfast recipes for 2011. Feel free to post your own highlight and join us if you's like.

Merry Christmas/Happy Birthday

2011-12-25T20:18:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

To You

To Me

Today is my 70th birthday. Yes, I was a Christmas baby born at home on December 25, 1941. I will now have to change my profile to say "70 something."

Yesterday, I baked my mother's fruitcake recipe. I had planned to make a post about it. I tried, but I just could not. Mom's passing in November is still to raw, and I found I did not have the words that I wanted. Perhaps I will share it next year.

Today, we celebrated a nice quiet Christmas at my younger daughter's with all my close family present. I hope that everyone had a wonderful day with family and friends.

Coconut Pecan Cake Balls

2011-12-23T22:37:00.000-08:00

I have been noticing the cake pop and cake balls recipes all around the net for awhile. My mind ever curious, I wondered if the Coconut Pecan Frosting could be used to make the cake balls. All the recipes seemed to use the regular type frosting.

I decided to give the version I had running around in my head a try. I really wanted to use Butter Pecan cake mix, but that is very hard to find where I live, and I did not want to use up one out of my precious inventory just in case things failed. I decided that, since I had one on hand, I would use a German Chocolate cake mix.

Most of the cake ball recipes say to just make up the cake mix according to the directions, but I had heard that some people had a problem with that. I decided to use the Wilton pound cake recipe which takes an instant pudding mix and extra eggs. I am going to try this with my Homemade Cake Mix and see how it goes.

I dipped the cake balls in melted almond bark. The package of white bark I had was old, and it did not thin out well so the only one of those you are going to see is the one I cut in half to show the inside. I did better with the chocolate coating so that is what you get to see. I think that next time I will buy the dipping wafers or try melted frosting or chocolate chips.

Since there are not a lot of pecans in the frosting mix, next time I will add some finely chopped, toasted pecans, maybe 1/2 to 1 cup and maybe some chopped coconut, too.

Coconut Pecan Cake Balls
1 pkg. (18 oz.) cake mix, German Chocolate, Butter Pecan or other.
I small pkg. instant pudding, I used vanilla as I had that on hand
1 c. water
1/3 c. vegetable oil
4 eggs, room temperature
1 can Coconut Pecan Frosting
2 pkgs. (24 oz.) coating mix (almond bark) or dipping wafers.

Combine all ingredients in mixer bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until well blended. Pour into a greased 9x13-inch baking pan or two 8x8-inch baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes for the 9x13-inch cake or 30 to 40 minutes for the 8x8-inch cakes. Let stand in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, place on rack and cool completely. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes or until cake is very cold. Crumble half of 9x13-inch cake into bowl of a large stand mixer. Add half of the frosting and mix until frosting is very well blended with the cake mix. There should be no discernable cake mix crumbs showing. If only a hand mixer is available, use a quarter of the cake mix and a quarter of the frosting mix at a time. Use a cookie scoop to measure out level scoops of the mixture. Roll mixture into balls with your hands. Place balls on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Freeze one hour. Repeat with the other half of the cake and frosting mix. Melt coating candy according to package directions. Remove cake balls from freezer and dip into the coating. Place back on the waxed paper to set. A 9x13-inch cake will make about 120 or so cake balls.

Below is a picture of what the cake balls looked like with the white coating.

Linking to: I'm Lovin' It
Sweets for a Saturday

Hidden Kiss Cookies-Take 2

2011-12-22T11:14:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I posted a Hidden Kiss Cookie as part of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies. At that time I used a recipe calling for powdered sugar and used Cherry Cordial Kisses. I had also purchased some Mint Truffle Kisses and wanted to make cookies with them. I decided to use another recipe that I had which called for regular sugar. That recipe came from Pillsbury Festive Holiday Recipes, 1981.

Although the recipe calls for vanilla, I like to use a flavoring that corresponds to what will be the filling in the cookies. Thus, I used mint flavor in these cookies. Other things that can be used for filling are: M&M’s plain or peanut, candied cherries, walnut or pecan halves, whole almonds, gumdrops, butter mints, etc. The cookies can also be colored with food coloring if desired.

I don’t know if it was the difference in the dough, the kisses, or I was more practiced at getting the kisses completely covered, but I did not have any leakage with these cookies.

The cookies may be left plain, cooled 10 minutes and rolled in sifted powdered sugar, or dipped in the glaze.

Hidden Kiss Cookies Take 2
2 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla or 1 t. mint, almond, or other flavoring
4 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
72 Hershey’s Kisses, about 1 1/2 bags or other desired filling

Cream butter and sugar together until well blended. Beat in egg and flavoring. Combine flour and salt. Add to butter/sugar mixture and blend well. Dough will be somewhat stiff. Using level measuring tablespoonsful of dough, flatten the dough and then wrap around kiss or other filling, rolling into a ball and encasing filling completely. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees 14 to 16 minutes until set and bottom is lightly browned. Cool 10 minutes and roll in powdered sugar if desired or cool completely and top with glaze. Makes 72 cookies.

Glaze
1 c. powdered sugar, sifted or put through a sieve
1 T. plus 1 1/2 t. milk
1 t. vanilla or other flavoring
food coloring if desired

Mix ingredients together until very smooth. Let set for a few minutes. Dip tops of cookies into glaze. Let excess glaze drop off. Place on wire rack with waxed paper underneath and let the glaze set.

Holiday Happiness Cookie Scrolls

2011-12-21T01:01:00.000-08:00

I make no secret of how much I love quick and easy recipes, but every once in a while I find one that takes some time and effort that is well worth it. This is one of those recipes. Although it does take some work, this is a fun recipe to make. The recipe also comes from the Pillsbury cookbook, “Festive Holiday Recipes”,1981. It can be both a gift and a card.

The cookies are baked, then little paper messages are folded or rolled and inserted into the cookie scrolls. Making the cookies can be turned into an activity to do with kids. Have them write out messages on the papers and cut the lengths of ribbon needed. Of course, messages could also be printed out from a computer.

Either quick or old-fashioned oats can be used in the recipe. Old-fashioned oats will make a more lacey cookie and is what was used in the cookies in the photos. Dark brown sugar can be used, but it will give the cookies a bigger caramel flavor.

Be sure to leave the 4-inches between the cookies when baking them. I can bake about 4 cookies at a time on the size baking sheets I have. It takes a little bit of practice to know when to roll the cookies after baking. The handle of a wooden spoon can be used to help roll the cookies.

If you don’t want to bother to roll the cookies, you can leave them flat. They still will taste good.

A small cookie scoop full makes about a 4-inch cookie. For smaller cookies, use a level measuring teaspoon of dough. This is for making flat cookies only. The larger amount is needed to make the scrolls. The cookies are basically oats held together by melted sugar so after the cookies have been placed on the baking sheet, squeeze them together a bit to compact the dough balls. This will help the cookies not come apart as they are baking. The cookies will be like lace. Below is a photo I tried to take to show the texture. Do you know how hard it is to hold a cookie in one hand, and shoot a picture with the other?

Holiday Happiness Cookie Scrolls

1 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1 c. rolled oats, quick or old-fashioned

1 T. flour (not self-rising)

1/8 t. salt

1/4 t. soda

1/3 c. butter or margarine, melted

1 T. lemon juice

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, oats, flour, salt and soda. Mix well. Combine melted butter and lemon juice. Stir into dry ingredients and blend thoroughly. Using a small cookie scoop, place dough balls 4-inches apart on a foil-lined baking sheet. Squeeze cookies to compact them a bit. Bake at 325 degrees 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow cookies to set for 30 to 45 seconds. One at a time roll cookies around the handle of a wooden spoon to form scrolls. Place on rack and cool completely. If cookies become too crisp for rolling, return to the oven for 1 to 2 minutes to warm slightly. Makes about 24 cookies.

The cookies are very fragile while warm, but "toughen up" considerably once they are cooled. Wait until they are completely cool to add the paper messages. To complete the scrolls, cut pieces of paper about 3x4-inches. Write a message and roll or fold so the paper is about 1/4-inch wide. Slide the paper into the scrolls. Cut 8 to 10-inch lengths of 1/8-inch ribbon, yarn, or curling ribbon. Carefully tie around the scrolls.

I like to put one of these in the center of a gift plate of cookies with a personal message to the recipient. Another thing I have done with these is to attach little tags with peoples names to the ribbon, write a personal message, and used them as place cards at a holiday dinner.

Linking to These Chicks Cooked
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Divinity Cookies

2011-12-20T01:00:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite cookies when I was growing up were Divinity Cookies. This was a cookie that the local bake shops sold. The cookie was stark white, filled with walnuts, and like shortbread with an extra crunch. I have not seen these sold for a very long time. I think that the cookies were made with lard or at least white shortening.

Although I have not been able to recreate that cookie completely, this recipe is quite close. Butter may be used instead of the shortening, but that will give the cookie more of a “Mexican Wedding Cookie” texture. The Divinity Cookies are rolled into balls and then flattened with a fork dipped in flour, unlike the “Mexican Wedding Cookie” which is left in a ball to bake and then rolled in powdered sugar. The cookies in the photos were made with butter. Since the walnuts are a very big part of the flavor of this cookie, they need to be very fresh. I toast them, but it is not necessary.

The cookies will not spread very much and are done when set but not browned.

Divinity Cookies
1 c. white shortening or butter, softened
1 c. powdered sugar, sifted or put through a sieve
1 egg white
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 t. cream of tartar
1/2 t. soda
1 c. chopped walnuts

Beat shortening or butter well. Add powdered sugar and beat well. Stir in egg white and vanilla. Beat well. (You may want to used a whisk here.) Combine flour, cream of tartar, and soda. Stir into the egg/sugar mixture until well blended. Roll mixture into 1-inch balls and place on foil-lined baking sheet. Flatten with a fork that has been dipped in flour. Bake at 325 degrees, 5 to 8 minutes, until cookies are set but not brown. Makes about 4 doz.

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Old Fashioned Ginger Strips

2011-12-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

Good Monday morning to you all. I hope that everyone is close to being ready for Christmas. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives to read my blog. I hope that the information that I post here is useful.

This a cookie that I make every Christmas since I have found it. It is one of my hubby’s favorites. The cookies have a nice mildly spiced flavor, and the recipe makes quite a lot of cookies quickly and easily. Although the recipe include a glaze, the cookies are brushed with water and sprinkled with sugar so the glaze can be omitted if time is an issue.

The recipe comes from Pillsbury Festive Holiday Recipes, 1981. It is another of those little grocery store cookbooks. Yes, I have way too many of them.

These cookie spread quite a lot so only put two rolls on a cookie sheet. Below are photos to show how much the cookies spread. The rolls were laid the length of the baking sheet, although the photos seem to suggest otherwise.

Cookies ready to bake, rolls are about 1 1/2-inches wide.

Baked cookies before cutting, see how much they spread.

Old Fashioned Ginger Strips
3/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. molasses (grease your measuring cup for easy removal)
2 1/2 c. flour
2 t. soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 t. ginger

Combine butter, sugar, egg, and molasses in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. In another bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Mix well. Stir into butter/sugar mixture. Blend thoroughly. Divide dough into 6 equal portions. Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil or parchment paper. Shape each portion of dough into a 12-inch roll, placing roll lengthwise on baking sheet. Place only two rolls at a time on each baking sheet. Flatten the rolls slightly to a width of about 1 1/2-2 inches and about 1/4-inch thick. Brush rolls with water and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes,or until golden brown. Remove pans from oven. With a table knife make diagonal indentations at about 3/4-inch intervals almost all the way through the cookies. Leave in pan to cool completely. Drizzle glaze over cookies, if using. Allow to set. Cut through the cookies at the indentations. Makes about 64 bars.

Glaze
3/4 c. powdered sugar, sifted or put through a sieve
1 T. butter or margarine, very soft
1 T. milk
1/2 t. vanilla

Combine ingredients in a small bowl and beat until smooth. If needed, add a few more drops of milk to make a glaze consistency.

Linking to: Making Monday Marvelous
Homemade Monday
Marvelous Mess Monday
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Made by You Monday

So-Easy Sugar Cookie Squares

2011-12-18T11:51:00.000-08:00

When my children were growing up, I made rolled out cookies. I don’t do that much any more. Sometimes, however, I want the taste of a sugar cookie. Now I know that there are recipes for cookies that you roll into balls and flatten with a glass, but many years ago I found a recipe that is even simpler and quicker than that. Sugar cookies made in a jelly roll pan. This is a great little cookie to have in your cookie recipe arsenal. It can be whipped up in a jiffy, prettied up easily, and makes a nice amount.

Other extracts may be used instead of the vanilla to make different flavors. I have used lemon, almond, rum, brandy and orange. The cookies can be topped with plain sugar, cinnamon/sugar or other spices and sugar, and any sprinkles used for cake decoration. The topping can be made fit to the season. If using sprinkles, pat them into the dough slightly with the palm of your hand.

The recipe was printed in Pillsbury’s Family Fun cookbook, 1983, another of those little cookbooks found at the grocery store. I have never seen the recipe anywhere else. Pillsbury called them So-Easy Sugar Cookies. I added the name squares to describe them better.

So-Easy Sugar Cookies Squares
3/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. shortening
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 T. milk
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1.2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 T. sugar to sprinkle over the top

In a large mixing bowl combine sugar, shortening, oil, milk, vanilla and egg and beat well. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into sugar/egg mixture. Mix well. Dough will be somewhat stiff. Turn dough out onto the center of a foil-lined 10x15-inch baking pan. Spread evenly to fill pan. I usually have to use my hands to do this. Sprinkle the tablespoon of sugar evenly over the top. Bake at 375 degrees 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Cut into squares. Makes about 40 cookies.

Linking to Strut Your Stuff Saturday
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Eggnog Cranberry Bread Pudding with Cranberry Sauce

2011-12-17T09:43:00.000-08:00

This was supposed to be my recipe for the December Improv Cooking Challenge, only I missed it. I thought the recipes were supposed to be posted today, but it was actually Thursday.

This is a recipe for that good ole comfort food, bread pudding. I adapted my favorite bread pudding recipe which comes from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. I have had several editions of this cook book, and I think that the same bread pudding recipe has been in every one.

I am giving a range for the amount of bread to use. If you like a more custard like bread pudding, use 4 slices of bread. If you like a firmer bread pudding that you can slice and serve, use 6 slices of bread. The bread pudding in the photo was made using 6 slices of bread.

I like to pour hot water over the dried cranberries to plump them up a bit, like raisins, but it is not necessary to do so.

I first made a rum sauce for this, but then decided that I wanted a cranberry sauce to pour over the bread pudding. When I did a internet search, the results were all for the type of cranberry sauce served at Thanksgiving. I then decided to do a search for cranberry syrup and found several; but most used fresh or frozen cranberries. I wanted a recipe that used cranberry juice and found one at Taste of Home. The recipe was submitted by Teresa Gaetzke, North Freedom, Wisconsin. I am going to post the Rum Sauce, also; so take your pick.

Eggnog Cranberry Bread Pudding
Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook, 1989
4 to 6 slices dried Italian bread
4 eggs, at room temperature (or put in warm water for 10 minutes)
1/4 c. sugar (can be white or brown)
1 c. eggnog
1 c. milk
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. rum extract
1/2 c. dried cranberries

If bread is not dried, place slices on a baking sheet and dry in a 300 degree oven, about 10 minutes on each side. Let cool slightly and cut into cubes. ( I actually just tear the bread into small pieces since I like a more rustic dish.) Set aside. Beat the eggs in a large bowl until very well beaten. Add the sugar and stir well. Mix in the eggnog, nutmeg, and rum extract. Stir in the cranberries. Pour into an 8x8 greased baking dish. Bake at 325 degrees 40 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. May be served warm or cold. Refrigerate any leftovers. Makes 6 to 9 servings.

Cranberry Sauce
Taste of Home, Teresa Gaetzke
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1 c. cranberry juice
1/2 c. light corn syrup

In a 2 qt. saucepan, combine the sugars and cranberry juice. (Do not use a smaller saucepan, the mixture can boil over.) Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, about 7 to 10 minutes. Boil for 4 minutes, stirring. Add corn syrup; boil and stir for 1 minute more. Cool slightly. This can be used warm or cold. Makes 2 cups. Store in refrigerator. If you want sauce just to top the bread pudding, halve the recipe.

Rum Sauce
Pillsbury Holiday Baking & Gifts, 1995
1 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 c. whipping cream
1/4 c. corn syrup, light or dark
1 T. butter or margarine
1/2 t. rum extract

Combine all ingredients except extract in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Reduce heat to low, simmer 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in rum extract. Serve warm. Makes about 1 cup. Store in refrigerator

Linking to: Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Must Try Monday

Friday Finds

2011-12-16T08:37:00.000-08:00

You have probably heard about The Great Food Bloggers Cookie Swap. I participated, and it was such fun. Just in case you need another cookie recipe, here are the links to the round up of the recipes. The first part is at Love and Olive Oil, and the second part is at Little Kitchen. This will be a great resource if you are looking for a new cookie to make in 2012.

Homemade syrups are great for gift giving, and I found a few in my travels around the net this week.

Homemade Syrups Holiday Edition

Annie's Eats

Homemade Syrups

Annie's Eats

There are recipes for eggnog, toffee, peppermint, gingerbread, vanilla, raspberry, caramel, and coconut flavors here. They all sound great. They can be mixed in to make those fancy coffees that cost so much money. Since I don't drink coffee, I would use them to top things like pancakes, waffles, bread puddings, and ice cream.

Maple Cream Drops

Talking Dollars and Cents

Maple is one of my favorite flavors. (And you all know that I have many.) This is a great little no-cook candy that could be whipped up at the last minute. If you didn't want to bother with the dipping in chocolate, I'll be they would be wonderful rolled in toasted, finely chopped walnuts.

Chef-in-Training has a list of 15 wonderful-looking fudge recipes here. Some of these I had not seen. I am personally going after this one. The three layers look so pretty, and chocolate and cherry is a great flavor combo.

Cherry Chocolate Fudge

At Second Street

Milk Chocolate Covered Raspberry Jellies

Making Memories with Your Kids

If you like the chocolate covered orange and raspberry jelly candy that can be purchased commercially, you will love these. The candy takes common grocery store ingredients except for the raspberry extract which may take a little tracking down. Substitute orange extract for the raspberry, and you have orange jellies. Orange extract is easily found at the grocery store. The candies do not have to be dipped in the chocolate if you don't want to. This are many wonderful ideas on this blog, so if you visit, look around some.

Perhaps there are some ideas for last minute food gifts for Christmas here.

As always the photos in this post were taken by and are the property of the owners of the respective blogs represented.

Linking up to Friday Favorite Finds at Finding Joy in My Kitchen. I can't wait to see what everyone else has found on their travels around the net this week.

Puddin’ Candy Clusters

2011-12-15T12:31:00.000-08:00

Here we are at week 12 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies & Sweets. What an arsenal of new recipes I have at my disposal. Last year as a reader, I followed along. This year as a blogger, it has been great fun sharing some of my favorite recipes. I think I am going to miss this each week for awhile.

Thank you Brenda at Meal Planning Magic for organizing this and being such a great hostess.

The recipe I am sharing this week is for a quick and easy candy made from cook-and-serve pudding mix. The recipe comes from Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book printed in 1963. I have two copies of this book. My old, original copy has no cover and is missing some pages I used it so much. In 2002 a facsimile edition was published, and I was lucky enough to purchase one of those.

In 1963 there were a number of flavors of cook-and-serve puddings available such as coconut cream and lemon. Now I can only find vanilla, chocolate, and butterscotch. I use extracts such as coconut, mint, cherry, almond and orange to vary the flavors of the vanilla and chocolate puddings to create variety.

Any nut can be used in these candies. Some good pairings are vanilla and toasted almonds, butterscotch and pecan, chocolate and peanuts, chocolate and walnuts. Coconut can be used in place of the nuts. Coconut flavoring added to vanilla or chocolate with toasted coconut is very good. Raisins can be added to the chocolate to make raisin clusters. This is a fun recipe to play around with. Today the combination is
butterscotch and toasted pecans.

Puddin’ Candy Clusters
Betty Crocker Cooky Book, 1963
1 pkg. (3 oz.) cook-and-serve pudding mix, butterscotch, vanilla or chocolate
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. evaporated milk
1 T. butter or margarine
1 c. toasted pecans, halved lengthwise

Mix pudding mix and sugar in a 2-qt. saucepan. Add milk and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a full rolling boil. (This will take about 7 minutes.) Lower heat and boil gently 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the nuts. Immediately beat the mixture until it thickens and becomes somewhat dull looking. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto aluminum foil or waxed paper. Let stand until set. If candy sets up before all mixture is dropped, add a few drops of hot water. The mixture may also be poured into a greased 9x3-inch loaf pan. Let it set up and cut into squares. Makes about 30 clusters.

Here is a list of links to the recipes that I contributed. There are only 11 as I did not post a recipe the week that my Mom died.

Week 1 No-Bake Peanut Butter or Chocolate Drops
Week 2 Graham Marshmallow Drops
Week 3 Oatmeal Crisp Brownies
Week 4 Cranberry Orange Snack Mix
Week 5 Almond Joy Fudgies
Week 6 Chocolate Bar Cookies
Week 7 Not Pecan Pie Bars
Week 8 No Post
Week 9 Maple Sugars
Week 10 Hidden Kiss Cookies
Week 11 Coconut Medallions
Week 12 Puddin' Candy Clusters (above)

I hope that people have enjoyed some of the recipes that I shared this year. I am looking forward to making many great new recipes that I found through the swap.

Ingredient Spotlight-Key West Coconut Bread

2011-12-14T14:14:00.000-08:00

Edited 12/27/12. The picture are now of the actual Key West Coconut Bread

Right now at the beginning, I have to tell you that the photo above is not of this recipe, but of my A-Z Bread recipe. I make Key West Coconut Bread every year for my son-in-law for Christmas, and I won't be making it until next week. Because coconut is the spotlight ingredient over at Eat at Home, and this bread is so good, I wanted to get the recipe posted.

One the years I give quick breads as Christmas gifts, I bake this in the mini loaf pans. I get about six out of one recipe. Baked in the 4x8-inch loaf pans, the yield is two.

Butter and sour cream along with the toasted coconut give this bread wonderful flavor.

I got the recipe from the internet a number of years ago, but don't remember where.

Key West Coconut Bread
1/2 lb. soft butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
4 tsp. coconut extract
1 (16 oz.) carton sour cream
2 cups flaked coconut, toasted
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and extract, then sour cream. Add coconut. Stir together flour, baking soda and baking powder; add to creamed mixture, blending well. Divide into 2 lightly greased 4x8-inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of bread comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove from pan and wrap tightly. Makes two 4x8-inch loaves

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